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Ruben Dias reveals first impressions of Cristiano Ronaldo.
Manchester City and Portugal defender Ruben Dias has revealed that when he first met Cristiano Ronaldo during Portugal training, he couldn’t help but be impressed.
The 25-year-old is currently shining alongside Ronaldo as the Selecao tries to get past the disappointment of the 2018 tournament. He also acknowledged that nothing could have prepared him for the sensation of playing in his first World Cup.
When Dias was a member of the travelling team in 2018, he had only earned one cap. However, he was unable to come off the bench due to an injury, and Portugal lost to Uruguay in the round of 16 as a result.
As part of a squad rejuvenation, Dias was made a permanent starter for Portugal immediately after that tournament and he heads to Qatar this winter as one of the game’s best centre-backs.
Dias acknowledged that playing on the biggest stage in the international stage is nothing like the experience of merely watching before his debut against Ghana on Thursday.
“It will definitely be a special moment,” he told CNN.
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“I had the chance of being in the 2018 World Cup in Russia. And I definitely felt a different perspective because it’s one thing to watch it from the outside, you know how big it is, but then to actually live it and be there, it’s just something else.
“As a player, it’s probably the biggest [trophy] you can achieve. It’s unfair to put it into words, to be honest, the feeling you must have after you’ve done it.”
Dias also reflected on his first training session with Cristiano Ronaldo, who he admitted left him impressed with his work ethic.
“The first day I met [Ronaldo], actually trained with him, he had just won the Champions League,” Dias said.
“I still remember that day and we were practising in normal practice. And then you just see why he was where he was. You know, the way he did everything, every single thing, the detail, the dedication.”
He added: “Football for me is everything. It’s life. It’s happiness. It’s dealing with everything from being wonderful to being the worst thing in the world, dealing with all kinds of emotions.
“It’s preparing my future, it’s preparing one day to have a family. It’s becoming a better man myself. Like many other professions as well but for me, football is a big example of life because you have it all in football.