Cristiano Ronaldo returned to Manchester United in 2021 and Diogo Dalot enjoyed the benefits of playing and training alongside the legendary star.
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It goes without saying that Diogo Dalot has been one of Manchester United’s important players this season. The Portuguese star’s development has been noticeable over the last couple of years. From playing as a No.2 to then first choice Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Dalot has now overtaken the experienced Englishman to be the obvious first choice at right back. He has improved significantly with and without the ball for the Red Devils.
Notably, Cristiano Ronaldo returned to Manchester United in 2021 and Diogo Dalot enjoyed the benefits of playing and training alongside the legendary star. “I had the life experience to work with someone who was completely obsessed about it. By being with him so much of the time, that passed on to me. Now it’s just something that’s just part of me,” Dalot told the club’s website.
He added: “I think I created this routine where I have to take some time every single day to recover, to work on my mental part as well, my physical part. It’s all a routine now. It’s just trying to work on recovery, nutrition, all kinds of stuff that will make my body feel ready to play. Ultimately, our bodies are our tools; they’re what we use to play football. I try to recover as fast as we can when the games are coming really fast.”
Dalot spoke about the importance of handling pressure at a club of United stature. “Mentally, obviously, it’s been a tough season. And when things are not going well, at this club, everything is bigger. Whether you’re winning or losing, everything is bigger, so you need to be really, really prepared mentally, to take all this pressure. To try to come to Carrington every single day to match the standards of the club, which are really high,” he explained.
Even though Manchester United had a poor season this time around, there are some players who stood out and performed really well. Dalot is one such player, who could very well be in contention to fight for both the Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year and the Players’ Player of the Year awards. Speaking about his preference for the Players’ Player of the Year award, Dalot said, “For me, it’s even more special [than the main award]. I have a lot of consideration for the fans; they are a big part of me and the biggest part of this club.”
The full-back added: “But my team-mates are the ones who see each other every single day. We have to come here and we still have to fight and we still have to share these moments when things are not going well and when the things are going well. This, ultimately, is my second family and this recognition by your team-mates, I think it’s really special, because they see you every day, they know the work that you put in behind the scenes. And it shows that this recognition is really important.”
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