Football stars who idolise Cristiano Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo is unquestionably one of the greatest footballers of all time. The legendary Portuguese forward has won five Ballon d’Or awards during his illustrious career, scored an extraordinary number of goals and won titles with major clubs in England, Spain and Italy. Oh, and he also helped Portugal win Euro 2016.

Ronaldo deserves all the credit in the world for maximising his potential through sheer hard work and dedication to his profession. And for many aspiring footballers all over the globe, Ronaldo is their footballing idol. Ronaldo, who is now approaching the final years of his remarkable career, has also inspired some of football’s current superstars – including the man considered by many as the world’s best right now: Kylian Mbappe.

With that being the case, at GIVEMESPORT, we felt it only right that we compile a list of all the players who have cited CR7 as an inspiration over the years. Read on to find out just how big his influence on the modern game has been.

Kylian Mbappe

So, let’s start with Mbappe. During a UEFA Nations League clash between France and Portugal in 2020, Ronaldo and the Frenchman shared a lovely moment at half-time. And after the match, Mbappe tweeted the word “Idol” alongside the crown and goat emojis in a direct message to his hero.

Mbappe, who went on to play alongside Lionel Messi at Paris Saint-Germain, also had posters of Ronaldo on his bedroom wall as a talented young footballer with dreams of becoming an elite player himself one day. Talk about a super fan… Although he did what most obsessives don’t do, and actually reached a similar level of quality as the person who inspired him.

2Erling Haaland

Manchester City superstar Erling Haaland is arguably the best striker on the planet – well, it’s probably not even a debate in reality. It’s crazy to think but he could actually be one of the few players to end his career with more goals than the prolific Potgueuge forward. But the Norwegian may not have even become a footballer if it wasn’t for Ronaldo. That’s according to the man himself. In 2020, the 23-year-old told reporters:

“I would love to meet him and tell him that I am a footballer thanks to him. For me, he was always a role model.”

3Marcus Rashford

You only have to look at Marcus Rashford’s free-kick technique to realise that the Manchester United forward grew up watching Ronaldo. He confessed his adoration when speaking to Man Utd’s official website in 2018, saying:

“For me there is no bigger inspiration in football. I could speak for a lot of young players and United fans that watched the team when he was here and the majority of us have followed him as he’s moved on in his career and that’s what’s special about United. The way he’s sustained his career and even improved year on year is just amazing.

“People don’t do that at his age, people are usually heading towards the end of their career and their level starts going down a little bit, but he’s just gone up and up and up.”

In the same year, Ronaldo sent Rashford a signed Real Madrid shirt with the words “To Marcus. Keep up the good work” written on the back. Class.

4Rasmus Hojlund

A gifted player on the verge of becoming Rashford’s teammate at Man Utd, Rasmus Hojlund is another young forward who grew up watching Ronaldo score goals for fun on television. He certainly has a long way to go if he wants to follow in the footsteps of CR7, especially after a slow start to life in England. Still, at least he has plenty of inspiration. The Denmark international confessed:

“My idol is Ronaldo. My father introduced me to him in United and I followed him to Real Madrid. I just like his mentality and love that he’s so eager to score goals. He’s so passionate about wanting to be the best.

5Matthijs de Ligt

Matthijs de Ligt used to pretend he was Ronaldo while playing football with his mates in the garden. And in 2019, the Dutch defender became teammates with his hero after leaving Ajax for Juventus. De Ligt told Dutch magazine VI, per talkSPORT about how he first fell in love with the striker during his first spell at Old Trafford, saying:

“We came to the conclusion that I always wanted to be Cristiano Ronaldo when we were playing football in the garden. That was especially in his time when he played at Manchester United. My first football shirt also belonged to him from that time.

6Joao Felix

As a Portuguese attacker born in 1999, it’s little surprising that Joao Felix is a huge fan of CR7. Unlike most kids of his generation, however, the Barcelona loanee got to fulfil a dream of action playing with his ‘childhood idol’. He professed his love to media outlet Record in 2019 (via Sports Keeda):

“Cristiano is my childhood idol, he is an example in everything for me. I was still a child and he was already the best player in the world. He is unique. He is making football history. I loved it when he said I was a phenomenon.

“People always ask me if I can reach Cristiano’s level and I always tell them the same thing. Cristiano is unique and irreplaceable. All I want is to be Joao Felix.”

7James Maddison

Tottenham Hotspur’s James Maddison supported Manchester United as a boy and still prefers Ronaldo to Messi even now. You can just imagine the Spurs midfielder attempting Ronaldo-style freekicks in his garden as a kid (even if the stats show that Messi is actually better at this particular skill) The attacking midfielder told the Coventry Telegraph in 2015 about why he looks up to CR7 and what first inspired his adoration, saying:

“My idol is Cristiano Ronaldo; I always looked up to him because when I was younger I was more of a Man United fan – my first memory was them beating Bayern Munich and my dad running around the table with me.

8Harry Kane

Harry Kane might be a seasoned professional in his own right, but the Bayern Munich and England star is eight years younger than Ronaldo and watched the world-class forward closely during his teenage years. It makes perfect sense that one goalscoring machine could be inspired by the other. Speaking after a Champions League clash between Real Madrid and Tottenham in 2017, Kane said:

“I asked for his shirt. He’s a big role model of mine, watching him when I was growing up. It’s a nice shirt to get and frame. I gave him my shirt. I don’t know what he’ll do with it.”

9Vinicius Jr

Vinicius Jr may well be remembered at Real Madrid as a legendary forward in his own right. After all, with 65 goals and 68 assists in 238 games, the Brazilian has already helped deliver one Champions League and two La Liga titles (alongside numerous other major trophies like the Copa del Rey and Club World Cup).

Ronaldo got a glimpse of the talented winger in action when he watched on proudly at the Bernabeu in March 2020 as Vinicius Jr scored for Madrid against Barcelona and then produced his idol’s trademark ‘Siiiiu!’ celebration. Vinicius later confirmed on social meda that Ronaldo was indeed his idol.

10Mason Mount

Manchester United midfielder Mason Mount, like many youngsters, spent hours trying to replicate Ronaldo’s free-kick technique during his childhood. But as this superb video shows, Mount perfected Ronaldo’s technique better than most kids his age. “I try to base my free-kick on Ronaldo,” he began. “Hit the ball by the valve and it moves. That’s all you do, top corner, top bins.”

He wasn’t wrong either, as the young Englishman blasted the ball just as he planned. No wonder he left Chelsea in the summer of 2023, setting off on a new chapter in his career with the Red Devils. He even wears the number seven shirt as well!

11Gabriel Martinelli

Arsenal ace Gabriel Martinelli is yet another winger who also grew up full of admiration for Ronaldo. You might expect the Brazilian to cite Ronaldo Nazário as his biggest inspiration, but he was instead quoted by Goal in 2020 saying:

“My idol is Cristiano Ronaldo. I admire him very much for the strength of will he has, for the way he works and for everything … for the individual and collective awards he earns. He is a guy who does not conform, he always wants more. That is what I want for myself: to always be conquering things. He is a great example of that.”

12Raheem Sterling

During his Liverpool spell, Raheem Sterling admitted that Man Utd legend Ronaldo was one of his heroes. It’s ironic, then, that he’s played for some of the club’s biggest rivals, such as Man City, Chelsea and the Reds. The winger played his cards close to his chest in an interview with The Mirror in 2014, but couldn’t help admitting:

“I really look up to Cristiano Ronaldo. He is someone that has always been an idol to me…but I’m not going to say any more other than the players I look up to are the best in the world, and everyone wants to be like the best in the world.”

13Bruno Fernandes

Man Utd fans have another Portuguese star who they’ve worshipped at Old Trafford over the past few years: Bruno Fernandes. But the midfielder revealed in February 2020 that Ronaldo is one of the reasons why he joined United in the first place. He told Sky Sports, per AS:

“I’m a Cristiano Ronaldo fan and he’s a player I’ve always followed. When Cristiano burst on to the scene here in Manchester, he spent a good chunk of his early career here and enjoyed so much success. That’s why it was a dream of mine to play for Manchester United.”

14Justin Kluivert

Justin Kluivert’s dad, Patrick, was a top player, shining for Ajax, AC Milan, Barcelona, Newcastle United and others throughout a glittering career. No doubt, he would have taken plenty of inspiration from his father, but the Netherlands international, who is currently with Bournemouth, is another massive Ronaldo fan. He told DAZN, per Goal, about just how much he looks up to the Al Nassr and Portugal striker, saying:

“For what he is on and off the pitch, my idol is Cristiano Ronaldo. I’ve admired him since I was a child and I still follow him, but I don’t have a photo with him.”

15Endrick

One of the most exciting young footballers on the planet, 17-year-old Endrick will follow in Ronaldo’s footsteps by joining Real Madrid in 2024. Speaking to FourFourTwo earlier this year, the Brazilian forward said of the Los Blancos legend:

“I just want to be Endrick and want to show people Endrick. If there’s anyone who influences me, not because of the teams he played for, the goals he scored or the titles he won, but because of the person he is, it’s Cristiano Ronaldo.”

16Memphis Depay

Memphis Depay took on the famous number seven shirt at Old Trafford. Sadly, it never quite worked out for the Dutchman in England but at least he has had better luck rediscovering his best form elsewhere. Unsurprisingly, he named Ronaldo as his footballing inspiration. Depay told BBC Sport (via Goal):

“It’s an honour to have a name like that but you have to be real and I am down to earth. He is my idol and a big, big player – maybe the biggest in the world. I watched him a lot. I look at his free-kicks and how he moves.”

17Bukayo Saka

Arsenal forward Bukayo Saka wanted to give himself the best chance of fulfilling his potential by copying Ronaldo’s mentality. When asked who his football idol is, said Saka (per Goal):

“Cristiano Ronaldo. I love his mentality. He always wants to be the best, is always working hard on and off the pitch and trying to make his body the best. When he gets on the pitch he performs with full confidence and full personality and shows why he’s one of the best players to ever play football.

“I wouldn’t say I have his attitude as we are two different players, he is unique, but I try to look at him and take the good things from his game and one of the good things from his game is his mentality. He’s always focused, always working and I try to do that as well.”

18Alejandro Garnacho

Alejandro Garnacho scored a spectacular bicycle kick in 2023 – it was the type of astonishing goal even Ronaldo would be proud of. And it turns out CR7 can take some credit for it, in a distant kind of way. After all, Garnacho idolises him so much, that he might be the only Argentine who has publicly stated his belief that the Portuguese icon is the greatest footballer of all time.

Back in April 2022, after Ronaldo scored a hat-trick against Norwich City, Garnacho (who was actually born in Madrid but represents Argentina at international level) called his then-Man Utd teammate “the greatest of all times”.