“Felt a bit hopeless”: Diogo Dalot reveals his “lowest point” as a Manchester United player | OneFootball

Manchester United defender Diogo Dalot has pinpointed his time under Ralf Rangnick as the “lowest point” of his career with the club.

Dalot was signed from Porto by Jose Mourinho in 2018 to much fanfare and expectations. He however took time to get going, which saw him loaned out to AC Milan during the 2020/21 campaign in search of regular first-team minutes.

In Italy, Dalot really matured and developed as a player. He came back to United and played significantly more the following season under the stewardship of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

For the Portugal international like most of his teammates, the Norwegian coach’s sacking saw him endure a lot of misery, especially under Rangnick, who was appointed as interim boss.

United sunk to a new low with the German tactician in the dugout as they recorded the worst points return in their history.

In an interview with FourFourTwo, Dalot – who has been impressive this term and is a leading contender for Player of the Season – gave some insights on what really transpired under Rangnick.

The right-back said, “I came back more confident [from AC Milan] but only started to play more when Ralf Rangnick arrived.”

“The end of that season, when we finished badly, was my lowest point as a United player and we felt a bit hopeless. When Erik ten Hag arrived, things improved and I continued to play.”

“Off the field, I was settled in Manchester after returning from Milan: my first year in 2018 had not been easy because the weather was so different to Portugal. That was a bit of a shock, as life there is usually outside. I was away from friends too, so I had to build new relationships and meet new people, which takes time.”

“But now I have good friends here – from the team, I’m friends with Antony, Casemiro, Licha [Lisandro Martinez] and Bruno, plus David de Gea when he was here.”

On his loan spell at Milan, Dalot remarked, “I played loads of minutes, which I needed, as I’d not played regularly for almost a year and a half. Culturally it was important, too – to play in another league and learn a new language. Milan is a cool city, but because of COVID, most things were closed.”

The 25-year-old explained that Paolo Maldini, who was Milan’s technical director at the time, played a crucial role in helping him refine his game.

According to Dalot, Maldini gave him good pieces of advice about things such as reading opponents and being patient.

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