Liverpool attacker Diogo Jota has admitted that he looks up to his compatriot Cristiano Ronaldo for inspiration. The Portugal international has also insisted that his best is yet to come.
The Liverpool forward claimed that he looked up to Cristiano Ronaldo who stayed at his peak even after turning 30. The former Manchester United and Real Madrid superstar scored well over 200 goals for club and country after entering his 30s.
Jota has claimed that being 26 years of age, he is yet to reach his prime and still has plenty of room for improvement. The Liverpool attacker also insisted that he is working hard to become better every day. Jota said, as quoted Mirror:
“You have a lot of energy when you are young but you still do a lot of mistakes and you always learn with experience. I always look up to [Cristiano] Ronaldo, for example, and I think he scored more goals since he has been over 30 than before he was 30, so that shows as well it’s doable. It also means if you are 26 you can be away from your prime and that’s what I expect – and that’s what I work for as well every day.”
He also relishes the competition for places at Liverpool and is enjoying himself at the club. He added:
“Everyone is expecting me to [be a substitute] but in my mind I know I can challenge 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.’ For me, it was like: ‘I know that I want to do this, he is telling me that, so why not? So, I just took it day by day, training and playing the best that I could whenever I stepped on the pitch. And I was lucky enough to score pretty much straight away against Arsenal and everything clicked from that point on.”
Jota has scored eight goals this season already in 16 appearances across competitions. The Liverpool star has only been on the pitch for 872 minutes which means that his goals-per-minute ratio is quite extraordinary.
Diogo Jota reveals what Liverpool have to do in order to be in the PL title race
Diogo Jota has stated that Liverpool must keep winning games if they have to remain a part of the title race. The Reds beat Brentford 3-0 at Anfield in the Premier League on Sunday (12 November) and find themselves second in the league table.
After the match, Jota told BBC:
"It's still early doors. We need to keep winning to be able to be in that title fight towards the end. It is a long road. You never know. It's still early days and people are fighting for their clubs. That's what we like to see. Hopefully, we are there at the end."
Jurgen Klopp's side are currently on 27 points after 12 league games. They are just one point behind league leaders Manchester City.
