Cristiano Ronaldo isn’t just a football player; he is an emotion. He is considered as one of the best football players of our generation and the silky-skilled forward can score jaw-dropping goals that is extremely pleasing to the eye.
Ronaldo has plied for top clubs such as Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus and now plays for the Saudi Pro League club, Al-Nassr. His popularity stems from the fact that once he went to this league of Asia, the eyeballs watching this increased by a significant margin.
Several top stars of international football like Neymar, Karim Benzema, Edouard Mendy and N’Golo Kante have made their way to Saudi Arabia and this is essentially because of the influence of Ronaldo, fondly known as ‘CR7’.
In this article, we take a look at the young football stars, who are inspired by Cristiano Ronaldo and follow this legendary figure:
1. Kylian Mbappe
This young footballer from France has been idolizing Cristiano Ronaldo and has said it publicly as well. Mbappe is considered as one of the best strikers of the new-age generation and plies his trade for PSG.
Time and again, he has tweeted for Ronaldo and has used several emojis on social media, that attributes to a king and GOAT, while referring to CR7.
2. Erling Haaland
Norwegian striker Erling Haaland is presently ruling the roost with his footballing prowess at Manchester City. He was instrumental in City winning the Treble in 2022-23 and had scored the maximum number of goals in a single Premier League season in that edition (36 goals).
Haaland holds a lot of praise for Ronaldo and has poured in a lot of appreciation for the Portuguese forward.
“I would love to meet him and tell him that I am a footballer thanks to him. For me, he was always a role model,” said Erling Haaland about Ronaldo.
3. James Maddison
Leicester City attacking midfielder James Maddison holds a lot of respect for Cristiano Ronaldo and labels him as his ‘idol’. Despite playing for The Foxes in the Premier League, Maddison has admitted to having being a fan of Manchester United, before.
“My idol is Cristiano Ronaldo; I always looked up to him because when I was younger, I was more of a Man United fan – my first memory was them beating Bayern Munich and my dad running around the table with me,” James Maddison told the Coventry Telegraph, per Tribuna.com, in 2015.
4. Harry Kane
After a UEFA Champions League game between Real Madrid and Tottenham Hotspurs in 2017, Harry Kane had asked for Cristiano Ronaldo’s jersey. This act speaks volumes about Harry Kane’s love and respect for the legendary footballer.
Kane also admitted to having watched him play when he was growing up. Notably, the English striker had exchanged jerseys with Ronaldo post the Champions League game in 2017.
5. Gabriel Martinelli
22-year-old Brazilian striker, Gabriel Martinelli, plays for Arsenal in the Premier League. He has plied his trade for Arsenal in 108 games and has netted 28 goals. The youngster holds a lot of respect for Ronaldo and has spoken highly of the 38-year-old footballer.
“My idol is Cristiano Ronaldo. I admire him very much for the strength of will he has, for the way he works and for everything … for the individual and collective awards he earns,” said Gabriel Martinelli as quoted by Goal in 2020.
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