Bentancur: 'Cristiano Ronaldo hates to lose, even in training!'

18 mag 2019

Juventus midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur has had a good season for the Bianconeri, breaking more and more into the first team as he seeks to establish himself as a real player for the future. Speaking to Marca about his time at Juventus, as well as the effect of Cristiano Ronaldo's arrival at the club, Bentancur said this:

"In general, it was a good season. And within this, the first half was much better. Personally, I collected more appearances. I played 36 games and I'm happy with what I did. Serie A has made me a player with more rhythm. I have much more time to play the ball and I play a lot more. So, I have to be more aggressive, get more of the ball. This year I only scored two goals and I hope to increase that number. In modern football we have to score and that's what I miss. Even so, I consider myself more of a playmaker and a distributor than a forward.

"Inspirations? Of my predecessors, my favourites were Gerrard and Lampard, modern and quality "8". As number "5", my current references are Miralem Pjanic and Sergio Busquets.

"Ronaldo? We were intrigued by his personality and we saw a very simple guy. He has dinner with the group and stays with us in the rooms ... Football is incredible. It affects us as we train. He never likes to lose and this is what led him to earn a lot and be what he is. Even during training... he's incredible. He is, in effect, a true winner. He doesn't like to lose, he wants to win and score. Maybe, sometimes, we win 4-0 and he doesn't score ... and Cris gets angry. But it is because of his ambition. His winning mentality is what led him to be among the two best in the world. He is a winner and shows it in every game."

p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'} span.s1 {text-decoration: underline ; color: #dca10d}

For more news, views and features, visit our homepage.