How Ronaldo convinced me to stay at Man United — Diogo Dalot

Abdullateef Fowewe

Diogo Dalot has revealed how a personal message from Cristiano Ronaldo persuaded him to remain at Manchester United rather than move to AC Milan.

The Manchester United defender in his piece shared on X titled “my journey so far,” noted that Ronaldo told him, “Kid, stat. I’m coming back to Manchester.”

The Portugal full-back said he had been strongly tempted by Milan.

“At that time, I liked Milan so much that I thought maybe we could make something work, and held talks with several clubs,” he stated.

Dalot described how Ronaldo’s call for unity and ambition helped shape his decision.

“He was saying that United is the best club in the world, that we would get back to the top if only we changed a few things. He was going to help me and we’d play a lot of games together,” he added.

Dalot also reflected on the influence of then-manager José Mourinho and the longer-term promise he was given.

“Mourinho wanted me there for 10 years. How could we leave after two?”

He said the season alongside Ronaldo triggered both footballing and personal growth stressing, “That season with Cristiano was when I really started to grow as a player and as a person.”

Offering insight into Ronaldo’s obsessive standards, Dalot recalled how the superstar noticed even small lapses in training stressing, “If anyone skipped a set in the gym, he would notice.”

He also quoted Ronaldo’s blunt assessment of a teammate’s future, and the striker’s uncompromising view of excellence: “He’s not gonna make it here.”

Dalot replied, “Cris, he scored two goals today!” to which Ronaldo shot back, “Yeah, but he didn’t have the fire to go for the third.”

Reflecting on the constant quest for perfection at the very top, Dalot added, “When your rival is Messi, nothing is ever enough.”