Mason Mount gave his first interview for Manchester United media on Thursday and revealed that Cristiano Ronaldo has been his idol since he was a little boy and that it is an honour to take his No. 7.
Mount signed a five-year contract with the Red Devils on Wednesday for a reported initial fee of £55 million. The midfielder is set to wear the United number seven shirt made famous by Eric Cantona, Cristiano Ronaldo, George Best and David Beckham.
The 24-year-old revealed in his first interview for his current club’s press that the Portuguese star has been his idol since he was a child.
“So many iconic players have played for this club and watching them as a youngster and also being a fan of them, it is very special to be here. This is what I’ve worked a long, long time for and it is so exciting,” he claimed.
“I had a lot of idols. Ronaldo, you see the little video of me when I was younger. I loved watching him play. Becks [David Beckham] was also a massive inspiration of mine, I was in awe of his free-kick technique. You take bits of inspiration from different players.”
Keen to follow in the footsteps of those icons, the Englishman revealed he cut short a family holiday in Disneyland to ensure the United transfer was finalised.
“We had a little trip to Disneyland, for the niece mainly. I enjoyed it as well, of course! We came back a bit early just to make our way up here, drive up here, see what the trip’s like and everything. But it was well worth it, and it’s great to be up here now” he said.
Mason Mount said he practiced Cristiano Ronaldo's free kick technique as a kid.
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) July 5, 2023
Now, he'll be wearing his iconic No.7 at Manchester United ❤️ pic.twitter.com/pxnyggrGIH