Cristiano Ronaldo knows only too well the process of maturing from prospect to one of the greatest in the world.
The Real Madrid superstar was named PFA Young Player of the Year in 2007 and ever since he hasn’t looked back, now annually battling for the Ballon d’Or with Lionel Messi.
And Ronaldo has pinpointed five young players who could go on to replicate the progress that he’s enjoyed.
“You see many players with potential, I will mention [Martin] Odegaard of Madrid for example,” Ronaldo told BT Sport. “At 16 he’s still young but you can see he’s a very good player.
“[Eden] Hazard for example, the No.7 of Manchester [Memphis] Depay is a good player too. [Also Paul] Pogba and maybe Neymar.”
It’s hard to argue with most of those picks – but we’re not sure that Memphis is the Man United youngster we’d choose.
