Diogo Dalot Believes Cristiano Ronaldo Will Manage To Play For 'A Few More Years'

Portuguese professional footballer Diogo Dalot believed his friend and teammate Cristiano Ronaldo would continue to execute great performances for "a few more years."

Dalot continuously praised his 37-year-old colleague in an interview with Manchester United's official website. "I think the stats can speak for themselves," he said. "He's a machine, like I like to call him. Inside of the pitch, outside of the pitch, the way he works, the way he drives himself every single day to perform like this, to give us these goals and these performances." He added: "I think it's a plus for this club and for the fans and, hopefully, we can stay with him for many, many years. I know he is not going to be here forever but I'm sure that he will play football for a few more years yet."

Dalot predicted that Ronaldo will not only still be playing for another few years, but will "easily" excel at the top level. "I'm sure that he is going to do everything he can to play until the last strength that he has but it's going to be up to him. We just need to enjoy him while he's here," he continued

Ronaldo previously said that he hopes to play into his 40s. The five-time Ballon d'Or winner continued to exhibit outstanding goals and superior skills. He assisted Portugal in qualifying for this year's World Cup, which many suggested to be his last finals. Ronaldo finished as United's top scorer with 24 goals in all competitions for the Red Devils. He also recently scored twice in the 4-0 win over Switzerland, as the Portugal team is currently competing in the UEFA Nations League. Meanwhile, Dalot, who failed to substitute in Portugal's win over the Swiss, will hope to play when the team face the Czech Republic on Thursday, looking forward to making it to the top of Group A2.

Dalot and Ronaldo are known to have a very good relationship, with Ronaldo seemingly wanting to take the 23-year-old under his wing. Ronaldo recently discussed the importance of younger players and how they all need help along the way. "The new generation will be the new future for the club," he told club media. "I am in favor that we should give opportunities to the young generation because they will be the future. But, you have to help them as well to put it in the right spots."