MANCHESTER: Young Manchester United midfielder Angel Gomes has said he tries to emulate Spain's Andres Iniesta most while out on the pitch and his inspiration is superstar Cristiano Ronaldo.
"In terms of who I model parts of my game on, I'd say (Andres) Iniesta. He was always one of my idols," Angel told Manchester United's official website, manutd.com.
"(He was) a big player I watched while growing up. (He played) in similar positions as me and I've always tried modelling my game on Iniesta," said the 19-year old 2017 U-17 World Cup winner with England.
Spanish star Iniesta is still playing in Japan for Vissel Kobe at the age of 36.
The attacking midfielder was part of the formidable Barcelona team which beat Manchester United in the 2009 and 2011 Champions League finals.
Gomes also spoke about memories of going to Old Trafford during the 2007/08 season, when a team including his famous godfather, Nani, bagged domestic and European glory.
"In terms of footballers when I was young it was always Ronaldinho, the Brazilian players, Robinho (plus Portuguese) Cristiano Ronaldo at the time.
"I remember the Joga Bonito stuff with the freestyling and stuff like that. As a youngster, all you wanted to do was practise skills, so I'd say players like Ronaldo (were my inspiration).
"I had an uncle, we used to go to his house. We'd sit and watch videos and he was quite old-school, so he'd show me players like (Diego) Maradona (and Juan Roman) Riquelme. I watched Thierry Henry growing up as well.
"Then obviously, when I was growing up at United, Nani had a big influence on me and when I was around eight years old, when I used to go and watch, it was that time when we had a great season and (we had Cristiano) Ronaldo and (Carlos) Tevez. All those players inspired me when I was growing up." IANS