Playing against Messi and Ronaldo has earned me respect – Wakaso

Ghanaian midfielder, Mubarak Wakaso has disclosed that sharing the same pitch with some of the World’s best players has earned him lots of respect from people and clubs.

Wakaso who had stints with six different clubs in the Spanish La Liga had the opportunity to play against some of the best players in the world e.g. Leonel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

According to him, although it was an honour to have come close to some of these elite players, never in his wildest thoughts did he think it would reciprocate in elevating his status as a player.

The former Ashgold player in an interview with Kweku Manu on the Aggressive Show indicated that the honour of playing on the same pitch with these players is an inspiration for himself to work harder.

He noted that people often come to him to tell them stories about what it feels to play against their football icons.

“It’s nice when you meet these people, it elevates you, Wakaso said.

He added, “I have earned a special kind of respect from people in China due to this, the same applies to when I go to my hometown, Tamale, because the people they wished to see, I have met that person and played with them even to the extent of swapping jerseys.”

“I even learn lessons from it anytime someone asks me questions about them. I feel if I work hard, I can also reach the level they’ve gotten to,” the Black Stars player stated.

The player who now plies his trade with Jiangsu Suning in the Chinese League emphasized that though he’s shared the same pitch with different stars, he gives the same accord of respect to every player.

“I make sure I give respect to every player because it’s not easy to be chosen among thousands of people in the world. I don’t really value names,” Wakaso said.