Dalot wrote in a piece for The Players' Tribune ahead of the World Cup that the 2021-22 season alongside Ronaldo accelerated his own development as a professional, sharpening his understanding of what genuine elite standards look like from the inside.
He described the moment Ronaldo identified a forward who had scored twice in a game as someone unlikely to succeed.
"We had a striker here who did really well for us in his first season, but Cristiano said, 'He's not gonna make it here'. I said, 'Cris, he scored two goals today!' He said, 'Yeah, but he didn't have the fire to go for the third.'"
Dalot did not name the player. The forward in question remained unidentified in the piece, and the statistics from that season create genuine ambiguity — the only outfield player other than Ronaldo to score a brace in any competition that year was Bruno Fernandes, whose double came in a Premier League draw at Aston Villa in January. The recognised strikers in Manchester United's squad that season were Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial, Mason Greenwood and Edinson Cavani.
Ronaldo left United in November 2022 following an explosive television interview with Piers Morgan and has since played in Saudi Arabia, where he remains active at 41.
Dalot was dismissive of any suggestion Ronaldo should not be at this summer's World Cup.
"To me, it's totally crazy that anyone could even debate whether he should play at the World Cup. Is he running like he's 22? No. Is he scoring a goal per game? Yes. Does he make us all better? Yes. Every time you meet him, you leave a little wiser."