Mamelodi Sundowns striker Peter Shalulile says his role model has always been Cristiano Ronaldo over his career and is aiming to make history at the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup.
Shalulile, 31, looks set to end the 2024/25 season as the all-time record goal scorer in Premier Soccer League history before the global event kicks off in North America.
He remains on course to win the league and CAF Champions League, with Sundowns in the final against Pyramids – and while he’s not been at his prolific best this season, he’s contributions remains invaluable across all fronts.
With 101 goals and 26 assists in 201 games in all competitions since joining the club from Highlands Park in 2020, Shalulile has been an exemplary figure in South African football and he admits he’s professionalism is modelled on the Portugal legend.
“Cristiano Ronaldo. And he still is the one I look up to, because he has that ’never-say-die’ attitude. He’s someone that has shaped my life in terms of physicality, mentality, what to eat, and how to carry yourself,” Shalulile told FIFA.com.
At 31, Shalulile is still hungry to achieve more, and with his first-ever Club World Cup on the horizon, he’s always keen to put his home country, Namibia on the map, on one of the biggest stages of club football.
“Well, when it comes to strikers, you are never satisfied. You want to score goals. Every day, you just want to score goals. Even on all my off days, I just feel like there is something missing because I just want to put the ball in the net,” he said.
“Showcasing my talent on that level is another massive thing because you will be going into the (history) books – that there was this is player from Namibia, from Sundowns, who scored in a Club World Cup.”
Sundowns are in Group F alongside Bundesliga giants Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan from the K-League and Brazilian giants Fluminense.
