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Tottenham Hotspur's Richarlison has included Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar Jr. as he built his ultimate footballer.
In a session with ESPN, Richarlison was tasked with naming one player each for eight pre-assigned categories. He named Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) superstar Kylian Mbappe when asked which footballer's speed he would want his ultimate footballer to have.
For strength, Richarlison named former Inter Milan and Brazil striker Adriano and for intelligence, he picked Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos. Adriano was physically one of the strongest strikers on the ball and had a powerful shot on him.
Kroos, meanwhile, is known for his elegance and his playmaking skills deep from midfield. Moving on, 'Richy' said he would want his ultimate footballer to have Neymar's dribbling ability and Cristiano Ronaldo's shooting skills.
The Spurs forward answered with Manchester City star Kevin de Bruyne's name when asked to name the best passer. He then named another Brazilian, Thiago Silva, when asked whose leadership ability his ultimate footballer would have. Richarlison concluded the session by naming himself when asked to name a player in the 'celebration' category.
Watch the former Everton and Watford forward build his ultimate footballer below:
Out of the aforementioned players, Richarlison has played with Neymar and Silva for the Brazilian national team. He has faced Ronaldo and De Bruyne as an opponent but is yet to come up against Kroos and Mbappe. Adriano, meanwhile, retired in 2016 at the age of 34 — around a year before Richarlison arrived in Europe.
Neymar credited Cristiano Ronaldo for growth of Saudi Pro League
Cristiano Ronaldo was undoubtedly the Saudi Pro League's biggest-ever capture. The Portuguese legend joined Al-Nassr in January 2023 after his contract was mutually terminated at Manchester United in 2022.
Many questioned Ronaldo's decision to join a relatively lesser-known league but since his move, a number of superstars have followed a similar path. After him, Neymar has arguably been the biggest name to make the switch from Europe to the Middle East, joining Al-Hilal last summer from Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) for $100 million.
Speaking about the former Real Madrid superstar's role in making the SPL more popular, Neymar told Al-Hilal's official channels in August 2023 (h/t GOAL):
"I believe Cristiano Ronaldo started all of this and everybody called him 'crazy', and this and that, today you see the league more and more."
Neymar, 31, scored once and laid out three assists in five games for his new club this season before suffering a long-term ACL injury.
