REUTERS/Issei Kato
Cristiano Ronaldo once revealed an English footballer is one of his son Mateo's three favourite players to watch.
The legendary forward was a childhood idol for many of the current generation who are making names for themselves in the sport. Vinicius Junior idolised the former Real Madrid star during his childhood before eventually following in the five-time Ballon d'Or winner's footsteps and lighting up the Estadio Bernabeu.
As Ronaldo, 41, heads towards the end of his illustrious playing career, he is now seeing today's European megastars earn similar admiration. Three of them have been mainstays in his son Mateo's YouTube history.
Ronaldo Reveals Mateo Watches Trio
REUTERS/Bernadett Szabo
Ronaldo is one of the most successful players in history, having become the greatest goalscorer the sport has ever seen. His peak came at Real Madrid, where he won four UEFA Champions League trophies, adding to the first he won at Manchester United.
The Portuguese star scored 450 goals in 438 games for Los Blancos, writing his name in the club's history books. While he didn't enjoy the most ceremonious of departures, he is recognised as one of, if not the best, players to grace the Bernabeu.
Ronaldo is training his son Mateo, who at the age of nine plays at Al-Nassr's academy. Despite seeing his father play for the Saudi Pro League giants, there are three players whom he is particularly fond of.
"My son Mateo watches YouTube comps of Mbappe, Bellingham and Camavinga. and he’ll tell me, ‘Mbappe is better than you.’ I tell him, ‘But I’ve scored more goals.’ Then I’ll remind him Mbappe missed a penalty… and he’ll reply, ‘You missed one too.’"
While the biggest takeaway is Mateo's view on Kylian Mbappe being better than Ronaldo, his interest in Jude Bellingham will have England fans taking notice. The Birmingham-born midfielder has enjoyed a meteoric rise and grown into one of football's biggest superstars.
It speaks volumes of Bellingham's status in world football and the influence he has on the younger generation. Still only 23, he has won the UEFA Champions League and La Liga title since joining Madrid from Borussia Dortmund in July 2023.
Bellingham headed to this summer's World Cup with some urging Thomas Tuchel to start Morgan Rogers over him. He did his talking on the pitch, scoring seven goals to break Harry Kane and Gary Lineker's record for the most goals scored by an Englishman at any major tournament.
Ronaldo Compared Bellingham to Real Madrid Great
Reuters/Maria Lysaker
Mateo isn't the only member of the Ronaldo family who is a Bellingham fan, as the Madrid icon made his feelings clear back in February 2025. He waxed lyrical about the Englishman during an interview with El Chiringuito:
"I really like Jude Bellingham. He reminds me of Zidane. He is still very young and has his whole future ahead of him. He will bring a lot to Real Madrid."
REUTERS/Kacper Pempel
Bellingham made a red-hot start to life at Madrid, living up to the hype with 23 goals and 13 assists in 42 games during his debut season. Just months into his Bernabeu career, he broke Ronaldo's joint record of most goals scored by a Los Blancos player in their first 15 games when he found the net for the 14th time.
Lionel Messi (Argentina)
Lionel Messi (Argentina)
Comparisons with Zinedine Zidane are understandable given Bellingham took the number five shirt the iconic Frenchman made famous. He now finds himself winning the hearts of young fans as Ronaldo and Zidane did throughout their careers.