Dalot: Why I call Ronaldo a 'machine'
Diogo Dalot firmly believes his pal Cristiano Ronaldo will continue to excel on the biggest stage and break records for club and country.
The no.7 ended his first season back at Manchester United as our top scorer with 24 goals to his name in all competitions for the Reds, having only been outscored by Liverpool's Mohamed Salah and Tottenham's Son Heung-min in the Premier League, and as the club's Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year.
With Portugal competing in the UEFA Nations League this month, Ronaldo scored twice in the 4-0 win over Switzerland last time out, taking his overall tally for his country to an incredible all-time high of 117.
Hence, it is obvious, at the age of 37, that the supreme athlete is showing no signs of letting up.
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“I think the stats can speak for themselves," Dalot told us, in an exclusive interview conducted towards the end of the season. "He’s a machine, like I like to call him. Inside of the pitch, outside of the pitch, the way he works, the way he drives himself every single day to perform like this, to give us these goals and these performances.
“I think it’s a plus for this club and for the fans and, hopefully, we can stay with him for many, many years. I know he is not going to be here forever but I’m sure that he will play football for a few more years yet.”
When asked if the centre-forward is more than capable of playing at the top for many years yet, his colleague for club and country was in little doubt.
“Yeah," he replied. "Easily. I’m sure that he is going to do everything he can to play until the last strength that he has but it’s going to be up to him. We just need to enjoy him while he’s here.”
Dalot, who was an unused substitute in the win over the Swiss, will hope to feature when Portugal face Czech Republic on Thursday, looking to pull clear at the top of Group A2.