Tuesday 13 September 2016 23:13, UK
Marcus Rashford says Cristiano Ronaldo was the player he looked up to during his days in Manchester United's academy.
Rashford joined the United set-up in 2005 and was just 11 when Ronaldo left Old Trafford for Real Madrid in 2009 but has revealed the Portugal captain, who has won three Champions League titles, was every young United player's inspiration.
United boss Jose Mourinho has already labelled 18-year-old Rashford a starter after an impressive start to the new campaign which saw him score the winner against Hull and a hat-trick for England's U21 side.
Rashford says three-time Ballon d'Or winner Ronaldo's motivation to become the best player in the world had the biggest impression on him as a youngster.
"When Cristiano Ronaldo came to United, he was the one who everyone looked up to," Rashford told Inside United.
"The thing that impressed me the most was the fact he was only young when he came into the side and he wanted to be the best player in the side.
"He worked hard every single day, you saw him in the gym every single day and the results came on the pitch. He openly wanted to be the best player in the world.
"You have to have an approach like that - all the best players in the world do. It's not arrogance or anything like that, it's the mindset you need to achieve things."
Ronaldo intends to play the full 90 minutes for Real Madrid in their Champions League opener against his former club Sporting Lisbon on Wednesday as he steps up his recovery from an injury sustained in Portugal's Euro 2016 final win.
Rashford was brought on at half-time in the derby defeat to Manchester City on Saturday but Mourinho confirmed the forward will come back into the team to face Feyenoord in the Europa League on Thursday.
