Nantes winger Moses Simon has named Juventus star Cristiano Ronaldo as the player he is modelling himself on.
The 25-year-old is a fan of Ronaldo, who is widely regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time, having won five Ballons d'Or in his trophy-laden career across England, Spain and Italy.
Simon, who was named Nantes’ Player of the Year after his outstanding debut campaign at the Ligue 1 club, disclosed his ambition is to keep working hard like the Portuguese superstar who turned 35 in February.
The Nigeria international ended the 2019-20 campaign with five goals and five assists in 25 league games for Christian Gourcuff’s side while Ronaldo played a starring role in Juventus’ Serie A triumph with a contribution of 31 goals and five assists in 33 appearances.
"Cristiano Ronaldo is the player I modelled my game after. I want to keep on working hard and improving like him,” Simon told Tribal Football.
After making a statement during his season-long loan from Levante, Nantes triggered the purchase option and handed Simon a four-year contract in July.
The versatile forward spent a single season in Spain, despite joining Levante on a five-year deal from Belgian outfit Gent.
During his brief stay in the Valencia-based club, Simon played 19 La Liga games and returned a goal in the 2018-19 campaign.
When quizzed about the differences between the Spanish top-flight and Ligue 1, the Super Eagles star cited the level of technicality and the level of physicality, aside from the language barrier.
"I think both leagues are very good, highly competitive and very exciting to play," he added.
"La Liga is more technical, while Lique 1 is more physical. That is the main difference aside from the language too. For me, it is a big honour to have played in both leagues."
Following the abrupt conclusion of the 2019-20 Ligue 1 season due to the coronavirus pandemic in April, the new campaign has been slated to begin on August 21.
Simon’s Nantes travel to the Nouveau Stade de Bordeaux for their opening fixture of 2020-21 league campaign against Samuel Kalu and Josh Maja’s Bordeaux on August 22.