Diogo Jota, a Liverpool forward, has suggested that he is still far from reaching his peak as a footballer, citing Cristiano Ronaldo as an example.
Jota has impressed in the early stages of the 2023/24 season after having his season cut short by a serious calf injury last year.
With eight goals in all competitions, the former Wolves forward is the Reds’ second-highest scorer after Mohamed Salah. Those strikes have come from only ten starts, which is quite impressive.
At 26, one might expect Jota to be at the pinnacle of his abilities, but the forward has stated that he hopes to continue improving for many years to come, drawing inspiration from a certain Portugal teammate.
“When you’re young, you have a lot of energy, but you still make a lot of mistakes, and you always learn with experience,” he told Liverpoolfc.com as part of Kodansha’s InspiRED series.
“I always look up to [Cristiano] Ronaldo, for example, and I think he scored more goals after he was 30 than before he was 30, so it’s doable.” It also means that at 26, you can be past your prime, which is what I expect – and what I strive for every day.”
During the extensive interview, Jota also revealed what Jurgen Klopp told him when he signed for Liverpool in 2020.
Jota, who appears unafraid of joining one of the world’s best forward lines, which includes Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane, and Roberto Firmino, explained how the manager’s words fueled his belief even more.
“Everyone was mentioning the front three, the best front three in the world,” Jota went on to say.
“Everyone expects me to be a substitute, but I know I can compete, and that was one of the first things Jürgen said to me: ‘I want you here, but I want you to fight for a spot in the starting XI.'”
“It was like, ‘I know I want to do this, and he’s telling me that, so why not?'”
“So I just took it day by day, training and playing my best every time I stepped on the field.” And I was fortunate to score almost immediately against Arsenal, and everything fell into place from there.”
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