Free agent Ronaldo is currently training alone at Real Madrid’s facility. The star was last seen in competitive action as a substitute in Portugal’s 1-0 defeat to Morocco in the quarter-finals of the World Cup. Dalot (the Portuguese winger) is the one who had the best relationship with Ronaldo at United and that could facilitate his departure from Old Trafford.

Can Dalot And Cristiano Ronaldo Save Each Other? 

Who is Diogo Dalot?

José Diogo Dalot Teixeira is a professional footballer of Portuguese nationality born in Braga (Portugal) on March 18, 1999 (23 years old). 

He weighs 75 kilograms for a height of 1.83 meters, is right-handed and plays as a right-back. 

Diogo Dalot has been playing for Manchester United since July 1, 2018. He also defended the colors of the Portuguese selection in U21, U19, U17 and U20. He started at FC Porto in January 2016, his first professional club. 

Since becoming a professional, he has played in the Under-20 World Cup in 2017, the Champions League in 2017/2018 and 2018/2019 and the EFL Cup in 2018/2019. He took part in 46 matches at a professional level (started 41 times), during which he scored four goals and provided seven assists. Diogo Dalot was shown five yellow cards and one red card in total.

Diogo Dalot has been Manchester United’s quiet constant in 2022, and he’s well-earned his nomination for the Fans’ Footballer of the Year. 

After last season’s woes, the former Porto defender has shown fantastic resilience both mentally and physically after he bounced back from a poor end to the 2021/22 campaign to become a real asset in the first XI and started every game he was available for this season. 

In addition, Dalot’s form also continued in his international success. After scoring his first goal for Portugal in September, he picked up an assist on his World Cup debut last week which put a big icing on the cake of 2022.

Can Dalot and Cristiano Ronaldo form a formidable team?

Diogo Dalot is one of the most promising players in European football and already at 23, he has curdled a remarkable World Cup in Qatar 2022, despite the elimination of Portugal in the quarterfinals against Morocco. The young winger has also been in the top European and Spanish teams’ sights for some time to reinforce their team’s right-back position. 

Dalot is a player of the present and future and his team, Manchester United is counting on him, but is aware that he is a codified footballer. In the next summer market, his departure cannot be ruled out. His contract is up, but United can renew it automatically, which seems the most likely thing to happen. 

In this sense, United could consider the transfer or will try a broader renewal. The player’s attitude is also key, and the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo could be significant, in this sense. 

Speaking of transfers:

Right now, Manchester United has still contracted Diogo Dalot to play but by the end of the contract in June 2023, the 23-year-old could choose his future destination as early as January if he wishes, refusing to extend. 

Cristiano Ronaldo says young players lack the ‘hunger’ he had as a juvenile and ‘don’t care’, but backs Manchester United defender Diogo Dalot is backed by none other than Cristiano Ronaldo who thinks young players of the next generation ‘don’t care’ and don’t have the same ‘hunger’ as older players did when Ronaldo was a footballer. 

In his interview with Piers Morgan speaking about his long and successful career. Ronaldo slammed Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag and made a number of stunning revelations about the Glazer ownership, former teammates like Gary Neville and Wayne Rooney and even former caretaker boss Ralf Rangnick. 

Cristiano Ronaldo and Dalot share a real brotherhood:

Dalot was Ronaldo’s main ally in the ‘Red Devils’ dressing room, as the Portuguese star came to confess: 

“I would highlight Dalot from Manchester United, he is young, but a very good professional. I have no doubts that he will have a long career in football because he is young, intelligent and very professional”, he said in an interview in which he (intentionally or unintentionally) did not mention Bruno Fernandes, his compatriot. 

Dalot could welcome a change of scenery Without Cristiano Ronaldo in the team, making it much more if it is a group like FC Barcelona. In any case, we have time till June 2023 which is when Dalot’s contract expires. 

Marking the future of many footballers will be the return to club competition for Dalot among them, and the instability surrounding Manchester United opens the way for market movements.

CR7 compares Dalot’s career against other new generation players:

Cristiano Ronaldo may have left United under a cloud, but he singled out Dalot for his praise, which is worth noting. 

“In football I have no doubts that he will have longevity, because he is young, he is smart, intelligent and he is very professional,” the striker said. 

Diego Dalot’s career history: 

Arriving in 2018 from FC Porto, Diogo Dalot is one of the last recruits of José Mourinho who saw in him the best young player of his generation. Under contract until June 2023 with Manchester United, the former FC Porto player joined Old Trafford in the summer of 2018, for an amount of 22 million euros. However, the Portuguese’s career had still not taken off then and in order to gain playing time, he was loaned to AC Milan for the 2020-2021 season. 

As a reminder, Diogo Dalot has already played 33 games, 2 goals in Italy. After a generally positive loan spell, he returned to Manchester United with the aim of earning his place. 

The past 12 months have been a momentous time for the 23-year-old, who has gone from being deemed substandard to being hailed as a must-have. He has former caretaker boss Ralf Rangnick to thank for his long break in the starting XI. Dalot was clearly the German’s first-choice right-back in the second half of last season, with the Portugal international moving ahead of Aaron Wan-Bissaka. The defender’s Premier League record for 2022 is off to a great start. He didn’t lose a league game until April, setting up a nine-game run including five wins and two clean sheets. 

After a promising pre-season, Dalot gained the trust of new boss Erik ten Hag and flourished. With Wan-Bissaka not favored, Ten Hag relied on Dalot at right-back with no natural backup. He has grown tremendously under his fifth United manager and the stats show his progress. The full-back has already kept the same number of Premier League clean sheets as last season (five) and his average tackle success per game is higher, as is his cross accuracy. More obviously, he has registered two assists and scored a goal this campaign after registering blanks in both categories last season. 

The former Porto’s contract expires in June 2023, but he could leave the Red Devils at the end of the season in order to relaunch elsewhere.