Nottingham Forest star Jesse Lingard has told the Daily Mail that Cristiano Ronaldo is his role model. The Manchester United man has been in the news following a controversial interview he gave to Piers Morgan last week.
The Reds forward has agreed to produce some articles for the Daily Mail during the World Cup. During the 2018 competition, Lingard was busy helping England reach the semi-final of the tournament for only the third time in history.
This time around, the player will be watching from home. Although he’s starting to come good for Forest, his recent good form came a little too late to persuade Gareth Southgate to take him as part of the England squad.
In his first article for the publication, Lingard waded into the argument regarding Ronaldo. Plenty of people have been having their say on the matter, with Manchester United now seriously considering terminating his contract.
Lingard has claimed that despite his recent outburst, Ronaldo remains an influential figure on a personal level.
He told the Daily Mail: “I haven’t actually seen Cristiano Ronaldo’s interview with Piers Morgan yet.
“I know Cristiano personally and can only share my experience. He’s one of the all-time greats and can still put in performances that make him one of the best in the world.
“He’s been an inspiration and a role model for me. I learnt so much from him about how to do well on and off the pitch. He’s a top guy and a top professional; first in training and the last out. He’s always in the gym.
“He inspired me and I know others who know him. His standards are so high and he certainly helped me improve.”
Lingard says Ronaldo is his role model
It’s clear that the Forest man has a love for his former United teammate. It’s absolutely no surprise that he feels that he’s helped him during his career and Ronaldo’s playing days shouldn’t be tarnished because of this.
It’s difficult to know where to stand on the Ronaldo situation. On one hand, he’s got every right to vent his frustration but then on the other, he’s massively bitten the hand that feeds him around £500,000 every week.
Lingard’s answer is very diplomatic and who can fault him? He’s now at Forest and although he’s a United fan this isn’t really the sort of news that he will feel overly comfortable answering.
From a Forest perspective, the Reds fan base will be happy. This outburst means that United are unlikely to include Ronaldo in their team when Premier League football gets back underway shortly after Christmas.