DIOGO DALOT has lifted the lid on Cristiano Ronaldo's impact since returning to Manchester United… revealing he now drinks coffee because of him.
The Portuguese defender has claimed he has changed his matchday habits following his compatriot's arrival last summer.
Dalot, 22, has established himself as the Red Devils' first-choice right-back under Ralf Rangnick having ousted Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
The ex-AC Milan loanee has started ten out of the last 12 Premier League games after finding first-team opportunities hard to come by under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Dalot was recently asked by United's media team about his preparation for matches, where he commented on the impact Ronaldo has had on his routine.
He said: "I mean every player has their superstitions.
"To be honest, I don’t have many so now I always, and it’s a fun story, before the games, when we’re at the hotel, I always drink my coffee with Cristiano.
"It’s been a routine now. He actually dragged me into the coffee because I was not a big fan of coffee but now I’ve started doing that.
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"Just to talk a little bit. Sometimes we have too much time in the hotel, so we get out of the room, just to talk a little bit and try to focus on the game.
"Obviously, I hear my music, do my preparations, whether it’s massages or it’s mobility work or stretches, and then be ready for the game.”
It's not just Dalot that Ronaldo has had an impact on, with Eric Bailly declaring that the United squad have ditched puddings since his return.
The Ivorian centre-back remarked: "All the players stopped because it's good, you need to change sometimes.
"Ronaldo has been the best for a long time, why? Your body, you need to take care of it."
And fourth-choice goalkeeper Lee Grant joked in September how his team-mates were too scared to eat dessert in front of Ronaldo.
He quipped: "You finish your dinner and usually on a Friday night you've got a few cheat stuff out.
"You've got a bit of apple crumble and custard or you've got a bit of brownie and cream.
"I tell you now, not one player touched the apple crumble and custard, not one player went up for that brownie.
"We were sat down on our table for table pre-match and straight away one of the lads said to me 'what has Cristiano got on his plate?'
"We were having a little goosey-gander over at what he's got and obviously it's the cleanest, most healthy plate you could imagine.
"It just cracked me up how not one player got up to take that junk food on which was laid out."
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