Cristiano is a perfectionist - Carvalho on Ronaldo & Mbappe's success

Ricardo Carvalho

talks about why

Cristiano Ronaldo

and

Kylian Mbappe

have proved themselves over the years and kept remarkable standards that can hardly be matched with.

The former defender played with the Portuguese international for many years, winning the Euro 16 and playing together at Real Madrid for three seasons.

Carvalho is not surprised to see the five-time Ballon d’Or winner still shining at the age of 36.

Carvalho told 

when quizzed whether the world sees the real Ronaldo:

"I think people do now, yes.

"He’s grown a lot over the years and is much more mature. One thing hasn’t changed, though: his whole life revolves around being successful in anything he does.

"Cristiano is a perfectionist. He doesn’t demand anything from you that he can’t do himself.

"People may criticise him and disagree with him, but there’s no question that as a footballer, he’s Portugal’s biggest symbol worldwide – and by his own merit, he has been in that position for many years already."

When Carvalho departed Ronaldo and Real Madrid in 2013, he joined Ligue 1 side Monaco. There he met Kylian Mbappe, who is making the same global impact Ronaldo once did.

The 22-year-old contributed to France’s 2018 World Cup victory.

Carvalho talked about the France international, whose contract with PSG is due to expire in a year, saying:

"He’s a five-star person. 

"The best thing about football is when you meet kids like him who become idols for a bunch of people, and then you realise that he hasn’t changed a bit from that boy you knew. This is Mbappe. 

"It was incredible to see a talent like him emerging. We had a good relationship, and recently, when I was Marseille’s assistant coach, we played PSG in the French Super Cup. He came over to our bench to give me a hug. 

"At Monaco, everything we spoke about had the sole purpose of helping him improve.

"When you’re starting out and have the traits he had, you can be more individualistic than you should, so it was important for him to improve his decision-making.

"He always wanted to do more, and felt that he could, but it’s crucial to find balance for the team. That was how he reached this level."

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