Arsenal winger Noni Madueke admits Manchester United legend was his ultimate role model

London — In a candid interview with TNT Sports, Arsenal winger Noni Madueke has traced the roots of his fearless, flair-driven style to one of the Premier League’s most iconic figures: Cristiano Ronaldo during the Portuguese’s first spell at Manchester United.

“The main one has to be Ronaldo,” Madueke said. “Man United Ronaldo was just different. The way he played with no fear, no handbrake. He just went to kill whoever was in front of him. Later on in his career, he started banging in goals for fun as well. He was the first superstar I saw in the game. I just felt like I wanted to be like him.”

Madueke, 22, recalled being captivated by Ronaldo’s pioneering approach to the wide-forward role, citing the Portuguese’s audacious tricks, flicks and relentless goal threat as the template for his own ambitions.

“He was a pioneer of so many new moves,” Madueke added. “He was the first one of our generation who really started to play like he did. The tricks and the skills and the flicks… and the goals on top.”

The admiration is particularly striking given Madueke’s own history with United. As a teenager, he turned down the club’s advances, opting instead to move to PSV Eindhoven, where he later trained under another former Old Trafford striker, Ruud van Nistelrooy. Yet the influence of United’s No. 7 era remains embedded in his game.

Ronaldo’s six-year first stint at Old Trafford yielded three consecutive Premier League titles and the 2008 UEFA Champions League, while reshaping perceptions of what a winger could achieve in English football. For Madueke, those memories still resonate, even as he now plies his trade for one of United’s direct rivals.

The revelation offers United supporters a timely reminder that, amid ongoing structural change at the club following the departure of head coach Ruben Amorim, the legacy of their past icons continues to inspire the next generation—no matter the badge on the shirt.