Manchester United’s new signing Rasmus Hojlund has named five-time Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo as his idol. The Danish striker completed his move to Manchester United from Serie A side Atalanta.
Speaking to MUTV, Hojlund named Ronaldo as his idol, adding that he like his mentality and eagerness to score goals. Ronaldo played 345 matches for the Red Devils over his two spells at the club, scoring 145 goals.
“My idol is Ronaldo. My father introduced me to him in United and I followed him to Real Madrid. I just like his mentality and love that he’s so eager to score goals. He’s so passionate about wanting to be the best,” said Hojlund.
When asked if Ronaldo was his idol because of the legendary Portuguese striker’s mentality or his quality on the ball by MUTV, Hojlund replied: “I think both. Definitely his mentality, you know, he had a rough childhood and he came through it.
“He wanted to be the best, and he put that out there very early.”
He went on to narrate an incident when Ronaldo named himself as the best in the world, insisting that he has the same mentality as the Portuguese legend.
“I think there’s an interview very early with Anderson and Ferdinand – the reporter asked them ‘who’s the best football player in the world?’ and he just said ‘me’. I like this mentality, that’s the same mentality I go for,” Hojlund added.
“He just put it out there and said at least that he wanted to be the best, and that’s the same mentality I go for. I want to be the best version of myself.”
Sharing about the feeling after arriving at Man United, Hojlund added: “It feels a bit unrealistic. There are a lot of stars here and now I’m part of the team. I realize they’re only human and I’m aiming to play on the field with others.”
In terms of his performance stats from last season, Hojlund made 32 appearances for Atalanta, scoring 9 goals. His speed and agility on the field have earned him recognition as one of the most promising forwards in the game today.
In fact, Atalanta revealed via an Instagram post that their departing star ran at a speed of 35.97 km/h, which puts him ahead of every single United player.
