Gyökeres, who has scored 32 goals across all competitions this season, caused some surprise when he was left on the bench during Sporting’s Champions League defeat to RB Leipzig, a match where Leipzig secured their first win.
The official reason for his absence was fitness concerns, which saw him only play the final 35 minutes of the match. However, Gyökeres still managed to score, bringing his season total to 32 goals, though Leipzig’s Yussuf Poulsen netted a late winner.
The 26-year-old striker has previously said he plans to stay in Lisbon until the end of the season before deciding on his future, which now looks likely to take him away from Portugal.
Gyökeres is currently one of the most sought-after strikers in the world, with top clubs like Arsenal, Barcelona, and Manchester United reportedly interested. The latter is managed by his former coach at Sporting, Ruben Amorim.
In a recent interview with UEFA’s website, Gyökeres dropped a strong hint about his preferred destination. He revealed that his childhood football idols were Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Cristiano Ronaldo, stating, “The players I looked up to were Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Cristiano Ronaldo.”
He went on to explain how these icons influenced his playing style, saying, “It’s about how they performed on the pitch. They went the extra mile, which impressed me. I wanted to do similar things on the pitch.”
Both Ibrahimovic and Ronaldo had successful careers at Manchester United. Ronaldo rose to global stardom before moving to Real Madrid in 2009, while Ibrahimovic joined United in 2016 on a free transfer, scoring 28 goals in his first season before his time was cut short by injury.
