There is always a curious charm to listening to professional footballers talk about their idols.
You see, no matter how many high-pressure Premier League matches they play, or how many European nights they grace under the floodlights, every top player was once just a young kid watching videos on a screen, dreaming of sharing a pitch with the legends of the game.
Dominik Szoboszlai is certainly no different.
When put on the spot during a quickfire social media Q&A, the Hungarian midfielder found himself facing the classic dilemma of trimming down a glittering career of elite company into singular answers. When asked to name the standout player from his career so far, the Liverpool No.8 couldn't help but laugh at the sheer absurdity of picking just one.
“Only one?” he smirked. “So the two most known and best players I’ve played with were Mo Salah and Erling Haaland.”
It is quite the pair to roll off the tongue. Szoboszlai joined Liverpool from RB Leipzig in July 2023 and went on to spend three seasons alongside Salah.
Operating as the midfield engine room right behind or beside the Egyptian king, the duo notched up around 126 appearances together and generated 15 joint goal involvements.
Their bond extended well beyond the pitch, too. In early 2026, Szoboszlai revealed the two spoke almost every single day during Salah's time away at the Africa Cup of Nations.
When Salah announced in March 2026 that he would be departing Anfield at the end of the campaign, Szoboszlai paid tribute, calling him one of his best friends in the squad and "one of the best that has ever played," adding how fortunate he felt to share a pitch with him.
Indeed, when Salah eventually landed at Trabzonspor later that summer, Szoboszlai was among the first former teammates ringing him up to discuss the wild reception in Turkey.
Then, of course, there is the Erling Haaland chapter. Before the Norwegian was terrorizing Premier League defenses in Manchester, he and Szoboszlai were tearing up the Austrian Bundesliga for Red Bull Salzburg back in 2019.
Despite sharing the pitch for just 19 appearances resulting in 14 victories their bond was instant. Haaland arrived from Molde without a word of German, and Szoboszlai, having been at Salzburg since he was 15, made a point of helping the striker settle into his new life.
Even after their paths diverged when Haaland headed to Borussia Dortmund, the pair maintained video calls and regular visits, with Haaland famously citing Szoboszlai alongside Jack Grealish and Jude Bellingham as his closest mates in the game.
A Dream That Won't Be Coming to Anfield
Yet, for all the world-class talent he has already lined up alongside, Szoboszlai’s ultimate dream teammate is simply never going to happen in a Liverpool shirt.
Speaking during a quickfire TikTok interview with JD Sports, the midfielder dropped a truth bomb that might make a few Kopites wince given the decades-long rivalry with Manchester United.
When asked for the one player, past or present, he would most like to share a pitch with, Szoboszlai didn't hesitate: “Cristiano Ronaldo I would love to play with him.”
It turns out the Portuguese icon was the driving force behind Szoboszlai’s entire footballing ambition from the moment he first kicked a ball in Hungary.
“My idol was Cristiano Ronaldo and still is,” he declared, reaffirming a reverence he has held since childhood.
And while Anfield remains his undisputed fortress, Szoboszlai gave a nod to Liverpool’s European travels from last season, picking out RAMS Park following the Reds' two dramatic clashes with Turkish giants Galatasaray.
“The best atmosphere, I would say Galatasaray. It was crazy, it was something else,” he admitted.
No matter how hard Szoboszlai might wish for it, new sporting director Julian Ward isn't about to hand a contract to a 41-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo at Anfield anytime soon. Then again, given Ronaldo’s sheer refusal to age, who knows?
By the time Szoboszlai’s current Liverpool contract comes up for renewal in five years' time, perhaps the Hungarian might just get his dream move elsewhere to share a pitch with his idol after all. You simply never know in football.
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