Manchester United whizkid Marcus Rashford admits growing up idolising Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo.

Ronaldo left Old Trafford in 2009 after collecting a third successive Premier League winner's medal and, although Rashford was only 11, the striker was in awe of the Portuguese icon.

"When Cristiano Ronaldo came to United, he was the one who everyone looked up to," Rashford told Inside United. "The thing that impressed me the most was the fact he was only young when he came into the side and he wanted to be the best player in the side.

"He worked hard every single day, you saw him in the gym every single day and the results came on the pitch. He openly wanted to be the best player in the world."

When the teenager was asked if Ronaldo's single-mindedness impressed him, Rashford replied: "You have to have an approach like that – all the best players in the world do. It's not arrogance or anything like that, it's the mindset you need to achieve things."