Arsenal and England star Bukayo Saka has revealed his childhood idol was former Manchester United striker Cristiano Ronaldo.
Saka, 21, became the youngest English player ever to score two or more goals at a men’s World Cup finals when he scored a brace for the Three Lions in their 6-2 win over Iran on Monday.
The Arsenal academy graduate has been in great form this season and has carried those performances on to Qatar.
Writing earlier this week on England’s website, Saka opened up on his journey to the top level of football and revealed his biggest idol growing up was former Manchester United forward Ronaldo.
“Ronaldo was my favourite player, Everyone used to do the same stance as him and the same celebrations,” said Saka.
“Of course it’s difficult to model yourself on him because he’s one of the best to ever play football and with his stature and the way he can score headers. He can do a lot of stuff that is obviously difficult for others to do but he was definitely my role model growing up.
“As for Arsenal, I used to love the older generation of players like Thierry Henry. I loved Thierry. And because I was at Arsenal, I used to be able to go to games and at that time I loved Alexis Sanchez. He was one of my favourite players.
“Getting to go to games as a kid, I think you never forget that. That’s a memory that stays with you for the rest of your life.”
Saka’s comments come after United mutually agreed to terminate Ronaldo’s contract after his explosive interview with Piers Morgan.
United have decided to cut ties with Ronaldo after he accused the club on “betraying” him and admitted he did not have respect for Red Devils boss Erik ten Hag.
He is now a free agent and has been linked with a number of clubs, including Arsenal.
