Man Utd ace's 'life in football changed completely' after meeting Cristiano Ronaldo, he went to 'another level'

Cristiano Ronaldo managed to do the impossible when he came to Manchester United the second time around and actually tarnished his status but it was transformative for one player.

Cristiano Ronaldo arrived in a blaze of glory, scoring twice on debut but that’s as good as it got, at least for the team since the forward continued to get his goals.

He would eventually leave after giving an explosive interview dissing the manager, the owners, and the club, with not even his teammates spared.

However, one Man Utd ace seems to have had quite a positive impact by working with Ronaldo as his “football life changed completely”.

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Cristiano Ronaldo’s impact on Diogo Dalot

If there was one player who was not just spared in Ronaldo’s scorched earth rant but praised instead, it was Diogo Dalot, and the mutual admiration is clear.

Dalot almost became Ronaldo’s shadow during his time at Old Trafford and that spell has clearly left the fullback in a much better place professionally.

Dalot spoke to Owen Hargreaves for the Premier League Masterclass series (quotes via Man Utd’s official website) and said that Ronaldo’s presence in the dressing room pushed him to another level professionally.

He said: “I have said this a couple of times, as soon as I met him [Ronaldo] my life in football changed completely. Because I saw something. I already considered myself, before I met him, a good professional. But he pushed me to another level.”

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Dalot’s comments reflect reality

It wasn’t that long ago that Dalot’s future at Old Trafford was in doubt as he was quickly becoming just another in a long line of injury-prone fullbacks.

In the 2018/19 and 2019/20 seasons, he missed a total of 51 games by missing 187 days of football due to various injuries.

To say that about the player who’s effectively turned into the ironman of the squad under Erik ten Hag and now Ruben Amorim speaks volumes about his dedication to the cause which has bore fruit now.

He was United’s Player of the Year last season, arguably the only outfielder who was ever-present in the injury-ravaged nightmare of the 2023/24 season.

It seems Ronaldo does deserve some credit for his role in the creation of the most dependable player in the current squad.

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