Diomande stuns: one player deserves the World Cup, reveals all | OneFootball

Ousmane Diomande is preparing to play in the first World Cup of his career with Ivory Coast and, in an interview, praised Cristiano Ronaldo. The Sporting centre-back showed great admiration for the Portugal captain, saying that the Portuguese star deserves to win the trophy.

Speaking to SIC, the defender also recalled the role models that shaped his childhood, growing up watching a historic generation of Ivory Coast players. The centre-back revealed that Didier Drogba was his biggest idol, although he admitted that Cristiano Ronaldo - - is still one of the players who impresses him the most.

The centre-back also highlighted the importance of moving to Portugal in his career. After arriving in Portuguese football four years ago, his transfer to Sporting allowed him to establish himself at a high level and earn regular call-ups to the national team.

Asked which of his teammates at Alvalade he would like to see in the Ivory Coast national team, Diomande did not hesitate and named Hidemasa Morita. He is now focused on the World Cup, a competition in which the Africans are aiming to get past the group stage for the first time.

In the 2025/26 season, Ousmane Diomande – valued at €42 million – made 31 appearances for Sporting: 17 in the Liga Portugal Betclic, nine in the Champions League, four in the Portuguese Cup and one in the Super Cup.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.