Cristiano Ronaldo provided Anthony Elanga with 'great' advice before he broke into the Manchester United team.
Elanga established himself in the United first-team squad three months ago after the appointment of Ralf Rangnick as interim manager and the 19-year-old has scored three times this calendar year. Elanga struck against Brentford in the Premier League in January before coming off the bench to score at Leeds and Atletico Madrid last month.
The 19-year-old started in the goalless draw with Watford on Saturday and is in contention to make his Manchester derby debut at City this weekend. This time last year, Elanga had still not been named in a United matchday squad but he is now vying to become a regular in the side.
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Ronaldo memorably consoled Elanga after his missed penalty in the FA Cup defeat to Middlesbrough last month when he stressed he was to blame due to the chances he missed in normal time. Elanga only played with Ronaldo for the first time in December but the intrepid teenager sought advice from the United great months before.
In an interview with Sportbladet that was conducted while he was on Sweden Under-21 duty in October, Elanga revealed how accessible Ronaldo is to United's youngsters. "He knows what it takes to play at an absolute top level and when he talks you have to listen. I like to ask him questions and listen to what he says so I can find out what I can improve," Elanga said.
"I have asked things like how he shoots, how he works mentally and how he reacts when things do not go so well for him in a game. He is very kind and takes the time to talk to me. Many people may not see that side of him, but he is a very kind person who takes the time to talk to us youngsters. It's very important to me.
"He always tells me that I should put my head down and work harder, every day. He says that when I get the chance to play, I will take it and really show what I can do. He says I should just be myself."
"It's so cool. I mean, it’s him. He has won everything and it would be so easy for him to say that he does not have time with me, but he always takes that time and talks to us youngsters," Elanga added. "That's probably what I like most about him. Everyone knows how good he is on the pitch, but he is also great off the pitch. A really good person.
"He's the kind of person I want to be. Really good on the pitch, but even better off it. I'm trying to be that myself. I should be good on the pitch, but a really good person off the pitch because it can help me a lot."
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