FC Nantes of France winger, Moses Simon has disclosed that he takes a lot of inspiration from watching Juventus of Italy star, Cristiano Ronaldo in action and he always tries to style his game after the Portuguese legend, megasportsarena.com reports.
The former SK Trencin of Slovakia, KAA Gent of Belgium and Levante of Spain star added that he always studies CR7’s game very well each time he sees him play, in order to further develop his own style and technique like that of the five-time Ballon d’Or winner.
The 25-year-old Simon, who shot to limelight as a member of the Nigeria’s star-studded yet hapless youth national team at New Zealand 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup, stressed that he is a fan of Ronaldo and he wants to model his game after the icon that has won several personal feats and trophies while playing in England, Spain and Italy.
Incidentally, Simon appears to be on his way to excellence as well, considering how he was named Nantes’ Player of the Year last season, due to his outstanding debut campaign with the French Ligue 1 club, which he initially joined on loan from Levante last summer.
After seeing the Kaduna-born crafty player excel during his season-long loan from Levante, Nantes triggered the purchase option and handed Simon a four-year contract in July, and he has now gone on to declare his determination to shine further, while also disclosing that he is eager to keep working hard like Ronaldo, who turned 35 in February.
Before popping into European spotlight, Simon spent a single season in Spain, despite joining Levante on a five-year deal from Gent, and, during his brief stay in the Valencia-based side, he played 19 matches in the Spanish LaLiga, but scored a single goal in the 2018/19 campaign.
It was also in the Spanish top-flight that Ronaldo made his biggest marks, after joining Real Madrid from Manchester United of England, and Simon went on to opine that Spain’s league has more technicality about it but the French Ligue 1 stands out in terms of physicality.
Simon, who got five goals and five assists in 25 league games for Christian Gourcuff’s Nantes, added that he was thrilled with his hero’s impact in Juventus’ Italian Serie A triumph, with a contribution of 31 goals and five assists in 33 appearances, and the Eagles’ ace told Tribal Football: “Cristiano Ronaldo is the player I modeled my game after.
“I want to keep on working hard and improving like him. La Liga is more technical, while Lique 1 is more physical. That is the main difference aside from the language too. I think both leagues are very good, highly competitive and very exciting. For me, it is a big honour to have played in both leagues.”
