Rasmus Hojlund has confessed his admiration for former Man Utd favourite Cristiano Ronaldo, and called the Portuguese the ‘best player ever’.
The Danish striker moved to Old Trafford last month in a £72m deal from Atalanta and made his United debut from the bench in the 3-1 defeat to Arsenal on Sunday.
Talking before the game at the Emirates, the 20-year-old admitted he idolised United great Ronaldo growing up, after being shown footage of the Red Devils former star by his father.
‘My father introduced me when I was not so young. He introduced me to Cristiano Ronaldo, and wanted me to idolise him because he has a good mentality.’ Hojlund told Sky Sports.
‘That’s the reason he achieved so much in his career and for me is the best player ever. He had the talent but it’s how hard he worked.
Rasmus Hojlund has spoke about his admiration for former Man Utd star Cristiano Ronaldo
Hojlund calls Ronaldo ‘the best player ever’ after his Dad introduced him to the player
Ronaldo won three Premier League titles and the 2008 Champions League with Man United
‘I’ve seen a few interviews with ex-Man Utd players and they all said he wasn’t a complete footballer when he came. He was skilful, but he developed.’
Hojlund, who hasn’t inherited Ronaldo’s famous number 7 and will wear 11 instead, can only hope to have the same kind of career Ronaldo enjoyed at Old Trafford, where he scored 145 goals in 346 games in two spells with the club.
He won three Premier League titles, three League Cups, the Champions League and bagged the 2008 Ballon d’Or in a scintillating stint with the Red Devils.
Ronaldo, who left United in January, scored his 850th career goal in Al-Nassr’s win yesterday
Fast forward to 2023, and there’s still no stopping the Portuguese icon, netting his 850th career goal in Al-Nassr’s 5-1 win over Al-Hazm on Saturday.
That was Ronaldo’s sixth goal of the season, and he already tops the goal-scoring charts after four games of the Saudi Pro League season.
New Man United arrival Hojlund arrives at the club having scored 10 goals in 34 games for Atalanta last season, and is seen as one of the most talented young forwards in Europe.
He has already been capped by the Danish national team, scoring six goals in his first six caps for his country.
