DBasia.news – Real Madrid’s young star, Rodygo Goes, doesn’t want to be compared to Cristiano Ronaldo. Rodrygo does not think about it because he didn’t want to burden himself, he only focuses on himself.
Ronaldo, 34, left Real Madrid in 2018 after nine years of playing there, leaving a legacy of success from trophies and individual records. In fact, Eden Hazard, some time ago admitted the pressure in wearing Ronaldo’s jersey number in Madrid.
“When I’m on the field, I don’t think about the number 7 I have on my back. It’s not easy to use that number after Cristiano. Raul (Gonzalez) also uses it,” Hazard said.
At the age of just 18 years, recently incising a hat-trick against Galatasaray in the Champions League, Rodrygo was seen by fans as a substitute for Ronaldo and also a quencher in the transfer drama of Neymar that never came.
However, Rodrygo was immediately skeptical about his comparison with Ronaldo. The ex-Santos player didn’t want to think too much about it because of his long career, plus he didn’t want to burden himself with that pressure.
“Being able to play with Cristiano Ronaldo at Real Madrid was once my dream and unfortunately he left as now I think it will be challenging to play with him,” Rodrygo stated as quoted by AS.
“I am young player talking about filling the space left by players like Cristiano Ronaldo, one of the greatest players in club history – if not the best. I don’t want to burden myself with the pressure of replacing Cristiano Ronaldo.”
The Brazilian striker also gave advice to other footballers to stay calm, especially when it comes to the main spotlight of the public and fame.
“Learning something as a footballer is not just a matter of what has been done in a training session. There is also a part of a big mentality, preparing yourself to be successful does not appear in your mind and know how to overcome fame and don’t make assumptions too often,” explained Rodrygo.
“Regarding this matter, my father used
to be a footballer and it really helped me, giving me mental start. I see him
undergo the same things as me now and I know I can’t let all this attention
interfere with focus,” he concluded.