“They went the extra mile” - Manchester United linked Viktor Gyokeres names Cristiano Ronaldo and ex-Red Devils star among his idols

Viktor Gyokeres has named the former Manchester United duo Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Cristiano Ronaldo as his two football idols. The Sporting striker has been in sizzling form this season for the Portuguese club, registering 25 goals and four assists from 22 games.

With the Red Devils looking for a new No. 9, Gyokeres' name has been doing the rounds of late. Former Sporting manager Ruben Amorim took charge at Manchester United last month and could push for a reunion with the 26-year-old in 2025.

Speaking to UEFA.com, Gyokeres also outlined his three best qualities.

"The players I looked up to were Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Cristiano Ronaldo. It’s about how they performed on the pitch, they went the extra mile which impressed me. I wanted to do similar things on the pitch," said Gyokeres.

He continued:

"In today’s football, you need to be physically strong, have a knack for scoring as well as communicating and performing well with other teammates. My three best qualities are my physique, finishing and that I’m often in the right place to score."

Interestingly, Cristiano Ronaldo is one of four players who have joined Manchester United from Sporting. The other three are Nani, Marcos Rojo and Bruno Fernandes.

Did Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Cristiano Ronaldo play together at Manchester United?

Cristiano Ronaldo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic

While Cristiano Ronaldo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic both played for Manchester United in their career, they were never part of the same team. The Portuguese joined the Red Devils in the summer of 2003 and initially spent six seasons at Old Trafford.

Ronaldo won multiple trophies at the club, including three Premier League titles and the Champions League. The forward ultimately left the English giants in 2009 to join Real Madrid.

Ibrahimovic, meanwhile, arrived at Old Trafford in the summer of 2016. The Swedish icon was a huge hit in his debut season, helping the club win the EFL Cup and the Europa League. However, Zlatan suffered with injuries the following campaign and left the club in 2018. By then, the mercurial Swede had scored 29 goals and set up 10 more from 53 games.

Meanwhile, CR7 left Real Madrid in 2018 to join Juventus. After three seasons in Turin, the Portuguese completed a much-publicized return to Manchester United in 2021.

Unfortunately, his second stint didn't live up to expectations and the player left for Al-Nassr in December 2022 following a fallout with then-manager Erik ten Hag. By then, he had registered 145 goals from 346 games for the Red Devils.