The young forward has made the move from Atalanta and has huge expectation on his shoulders
Rio Ferdinand has described Amad Diallo as a potential “world-beater” and feels there are comparisons to when Manchester United signed Cristiano Ronaldo.
United struck a deal to sign Diallo from Atalanta last October, with the player remaining in Italy before joining the Red Devils in January.
Diallo arrives at United somewhat under the radar – although manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said he has “special abilities” – but he has impressed many overservers in Serie A with his pace and trickery out wide.
Those attributes were similar to what Ronaldo brought to Old Trafford from Sporting Lisbon in 2003. Like Diallo, Ronaldo was 18 when he made the move to the North West of England and Ferdinand is hopeful of seeing the player make a similar impact to the now five-time Ballon d’Or winner.
“We’ve just bought a kid in from Atalanta and hopefully he does something,” the former Manchester United defender said on Rio Ferdinand Presents FIVE podcast. “If you see his clips and speak to people at the club who are involved in buying him, potentially this kid could be a world-beater.
“That is the thought of Manchester United people that this kid is one they have unearthed.”
Mentioning Diallo in the same breath as Ronaldo is a bold call, but Ferdinand feels there are similarities to when the club brought a relatively unknown teenager to the club from Portuguese side Sporting CP.
“I don’t want to put the pressure of Ronaldo on him, but no-one knew about Ronaldo when we bought him other than the people in Portugal,” Ferdinand said. “This kid seems similar in that sense and if you see his clips and the way people talk about him, the world is his oyster if he applies himself right.”
While Ronaldo arrived at United as a relative unknown, he came with a hunger to improve and drive himself on to greatness.
He won the Premier League title on three occasions with the Red Devils, along with a Champions League crown, before heading to Real Madrid and propelling himself to superstardom.
Two La Liga titles and four Champions League crowns followed at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Now 35 and at Juventus, Ronaldo is still winning trophies and setting benchmarks.
If Diallo has half the career of Ronaldo, it will be money well spent by the Red Devils.
