Chelsea midfielder Kai Havertz felt pressure to be the new Cristiano Ronaldo when he joined the club last year.
The Blues bought the star for £71m making him Chelsea’s most expensive player, and with a big price tag comes big expectations.
While his season was shaky,with Havertz managing just four goals in 27 Premier League appearances, he did score the winner in the Champions League final which almost instantly cemented him as a Chelsea icon.
The German international has now opened up about what the pressure was like to experience when he first joined.
He told Suddeutsche Zeitung: “People expect you to be the new Cristiano Ronaldo. But it won’t be that fast, everything is new and I really didn’t play my best football at the beginning.
(Image: Pool via REUTERS)
“I felt a completely different pressure than before in Leverkusen.”
Havertz’ goal meant Chelsea defeated Manchester City 1-0 in the Champions League final to raise the trophy for a second time in their history.
And the star said on the score: “I’m glad that I was able to end the season with this goal in the Champions League final.
“The goal was important for the history of the club, but it was important to me to have also done very well personally.”
Will Germany be able to defeat France? Comment below
Havertz was speaking ahead of Germany’s Euros opener against France on Tuesday in what is being deemed the ‘Group of Death’ as they will also face Portugal and Hungry.
And the 22-year-old added the Champions League crown will mean nothing if Germany crash out of the Euros.
He said: “We’re with the national team, we have different processes and different goals here.
“Of course, this title gives me tailwind and a lot of self-confidence, but there’s no point in feeling like a Champions League winner if you screw up the European Championship afterwards.”
France are favourites heading into the clash but in-fighting in their squad has grabbed the headlines rather than their potential to claim the win.
French striker Olivier Giroud complained to the press about not getting enough service in their 3-0 friendly win over Belgium.
And his teammate Kylian Mbappe hit back publicly saying Giroud shouldn’t have told the media about the problem.
Despite the feud, keeper Hugo Lloris has said the team are fully focused on their clash with Havertz’ Germany.
He said: “Mbappe and Giroud they had maybe a short discussion but that’s normal – it’s nothing unusual.
“There are different opinions in the locker room, this can happen.
“It didn’t harm the team at all. We’ve a great team spirit. I think we dealt with it very well.
“Kylian had to say something, but this is something he said in the past. We are focused now on our first match in this competition.”
