Alejandro Garnacho has been advised to stop copying Cristiano Ronaldo, with Angel Di Maria telling the youngster to “do like Lionel Messi does”.
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Teenager has played alongside both all-time greatsHas taken inspiration from Portuguese & Argentine iconsPotential has impressed experienced fellow countrymenWHAT HAPPENED?
The Manchester United winger forms part of an exclusive club in world football. Garnacho has played alongside Ronaldo and Messi, with the Red Devils and Argentina national team, and is clearly a big fan of two all-time greats.
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Garnacho has never hidden his admiration for eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi, but is also an admirer of Portuguese superstar Ronaldo. The 19-year-old winger has taken to copying CR7’s goal celebrations, breaking out the famous ‘Siuuu’ routine after netting a stunning overhead kick against Everton back in November, and can often be spotted in Ronaldo-branded underwear and boots.
WHAT DI MARIA SAID ABOUT GARNACHO
Fellow Argentine Di Maria – who has also worked with both GOATs – has told of the advice that he would be giving international team-mate Garnacho: “The only thing I wouldn’t do is celebrate like Cristiano. I would score the goal and I would do like Messi does. I’ll stick with that.”
He added on Garnacho’s potential: “He is a very fast player, he has incredible ability. He is going to gain it with experience and coming to the national team, it is a place where you learn a lot and continue to improve. It helped me a lot to grow technically in every way, it is spectacular. I think he will grow with experience as well. When I was young I wanted to make the play 30 times in the game. Over the years you realise that if you do it 10, but you do it better, it’s worth it. He has a lot of future, a very big future. It depends on him, on his head, to be able to handle it. I don’t have much to say, there’s a reason he’s playing for Manchester United.”
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Garnacho has taken on a more prominent role at Old Trafford following Ronaldo’s shock departure in November 2022. He is capable of producing moments of magic, just like his sporting idols, but is still searching for the consistency that will make him an elite performer for club and country.