Martial on his dream of being Man Utd's next Ronaldo

Anthony Martial has revealed he dreamt of being the next Cristiano Ronaldo having idolised the Portuguese forward as a youngster. 

The former Manchester United and Real Madrid superstar lit up the Premier League during his time at Old Trafford, scoring 118 goals in his six seasons at the club.

And Martial opened up on the influence the now 33-year-old had on his own game, insisting that he would dream that he himself would one day be starring on the wing for United.

"Cristiano Ronaldo was incredible. He is incredible," Martial told  United's official website . 

"I only admired players who dribbled the ball and he did just that. He would put on a real show. To tell you the truth, he got me dreaming that one day it could be me.

"I would watch every striker on the internet, and sometimes, right before a game, I’d be by myself watching action clips, so I’d be able to reproduce what they were doing in those videos."

That influence is certainly evident in the Frenchman's style of play today, with Martial often coming in off the left flank to shoot on his stronger right foot.

The former Monaco man has been in sparkling form for United of late, scoring six goals in his last six league games.

Indeed, had he scored against Crystal Palace on the weekend he would have become just the fourth player to score in six consecutive Premier League games for the Red Devils.

It wasn't to be, however, with United held to a 0-0 draw at Old Trafford, meaning Ruud van Nistelrooy, Eric Cantona and Ronaldo are the only three to have achieved the six-game scoring feat for the club.

As well as his praise for a former United player, Martial also hailed one of his current team-mates in Juan Mata, claiming he would be the one who he would admire most were he an aspiring teenager again.

"If I was a kid of 14 today, who would I admire? Current players today? For me, I think it would have to be Juan Mata. He is class personified," he concluded.

Manchester United take on Young Boys in their next fixture in the Champions League on Tuesday night before facing Southampton at St Mary's Stadium on Saturday.