- Defender on the books at Old Trafford
- Worked with icon for club and country
- Red Devils taking aim at more honours
WHAT HAPPENED? The legendary Portuguese frontman is currently in Saudi Arabia with Al-Nassr, but he has previously taken in two spells at Old Trafford. He has also turned out for his national team alongside Dalot, with over 200 caps earned for his country. Dalot has made the most of opportunities to learn from one of the very best in the business, with there one particularly notable nugget of advice that has been passed his way.
WHAT THEY SAID: Versatile full-back Dalot has told ESPN of working with iconic countryman Ronaldo: “He helped me a lot outside of the pitch, whether it's the way he conducts himself every single day, I think the discipline that he has and he had through all this career brought me a lot. It was a joy for me to play with him and to be his team-mate. He helped me a lot. I will keep some things to myself but the general [thing] is that his discipline is what impressed me the most. Because you can be consistent, but you can be consistent in a bad way, and he was disciplined and consistent in a good way. That's what I've learned the most from him.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE: Dalot has been absorbed back into the fold at United under Erik ten Hag, following a loan spell at AC Milan, and he wants to see the Red Devils competing for the biggest of prizes in 2023-24 after bringing their six-year wait for major silverware to a close in the Carabao Cup last season. He said of collective ambition at Old Trafford: “Being up there competing for the Premier League, that's where we want to aim. We have a lot of teams to compete against but we are Man United so we have to look at it, not as a motivation but as a responsibility to fulfil the objectives of this club. It brings us momentum, energy as well to look back on what we did last year. It has to bring us energy to build even more to raise the bar a little bit higher. I think we have the conditions to give a little bit more so we can even get better from what we did last year.”
IN THREE PHOTOS:
WHAT NEX? United have spent much of their pre-season in the United States – taking on the likes of Wrexham, Arsenal and Real Madrid – while Ronaldo is still going strong at 38 years of age with Al-Nassr and has been joined in the Middle East this summer by a number of other household names.