London: Former Manchester United defender Gary Neville lauded his former teammate Cristiano Ronaldo and spoke about his dream of becoming the best player in the history of the game.
Brazilian legend Pele etched his name in the Guiness Book of World Records for most number of goals scored during a specified period. Neville believes Ronaldo will look to surpass that mark before he pulls the curtains down on his glorious career.
“He was incredibly driven. I knew him more professionally than personally but his drive was out of this world,” Neville told Sky Sports as quoted by Daily Mail.
“He was one of the few players that would announce that individual trophies were important to him. Most would say the team is more important but he would say ‘I want to be the best player in the world because in turn it would help my team’. “It’s an obsession with scoring goals, applying himself every day, being the fittest he could be. He’s lifted his standards every year.
“I’ve got no doubt he will want to continue playing and overtake Pele’s numbers. He wants to be the greatest of all time and understanding along the way that the teams he plays in will be successful,” he added.
Ronaldo is a modern-day football machine who has won trophies wherever he has been to. He became a household name following his transfer from Sporting Lisbon to Manchester United in 2013 and since then, he has won several team and individual honours.
Apart from five Ballon d’Or crowns — second only to Barcelona’s Lionel Messi who has six — Ronaldo has won league titles in England, Spain and Italy, where he currently plies his trade with heavyweights Juventus.
He is also the highest goal-scorer in the history of the Champions League and has won the trophy an astonishing five times. Ronaldo also ended Portugal’s trophy drought by leading them to their maiden Euro title in 2016 and the Nations League in 2019. (IANS)
