Fabio Silva wants to be Rangers Ronaldo as he reveals chance Tav meeting FIVE years ago that set Ibrox wheels in motion

Silva wants to emulate his Portuguese idol Cristiano Ronaldo by firing in the goals at Ibrox.

Cristiano Ronaldo boasts some of the most staggering numbers football has ever seen. Almost 750 career goals, 205 Portugal caps, five Ballon d’Ors. But those aren’t the figures that really impress his compatriot Fabio Silva, writes Andy Newport in La Manga.

Neither is it the four Champions League winners medals or the fact he’s won eight league titles in three different countries. What really makes the new Rangers recruit sit back in amazement is the former Manchester United and Real Madrid ace’s relentless rep count in the gym.

The 38-year-old has carved himself a place in football history as one of the game’s all-time greats. But it’s been built on a foundation of back-braking graft and a tireless pursuit of perfection, even away from the training ground. Live-in chefs, state-of-the-art oxygen chambers, recovery pools - Ronaldo has invested in them all in an effort to ensure he extracts every drop possible from his substantial reserves of talent. And it’s that shining example that Silva plans to follow as he looks to blaze his own trail at Ibrox.

The on-loan Wolves frontman didn’t have to think twice as he was asked who he’d look up to as a youngster as he sat down for his first interview with the Scottish press at the club’s winter training base in La Manga.

Grinning, he said: “Of course, Cristiano Ronaldo. Of course! Since I was a kid I try to find an example not only inside the pitch but outside - and it is Cristiano.

“The perspective outside of football, the way with age he tries to win everything. When I look at his games, the hunger he has to score is something special. For me it is the best example I can take. In football and life if you stop or are not trying to be better than yesterday, with the quality of the young players now coming through, the other ones will go past you and you will stay behind.

“That’s why I use the Ronaldo example. He always tries to be the No.1, be better than yesterday. After that things happened naturally. The same for myself. I don’t stop, I try to be better than yesterday for myself and the things come naturally.”

CR7 may be his idol but the challenge for the 21-year-old is to prove a more effective frontman than CD9. Cyriel Dessers’ has become Philippe Clement’s regular striker by default given the injury set-backs suffered by Danilo and Kemar Roofe. But his haphazard efforts in front of goal have left the Light Blues legions lingering for a time when they had a centre-forward they could rely on.

Prime Alfredo Morelos - not the overweight version who waddled through his final season in Glasgow - is the most obvious example and Silva saw that for himself when he visited Ibrox with former club Porto back in October, 2019. The Colombian’s goal that night and another from Steven Davis handed Steven Gerrard’s Gers a famous 2-0 win and nudged him another step closer to his season-end tally of 29 strikes.

How the Gers support would love to see their team led by someone in similarly lethal form. Silva, though, isn’t making any bold predictions. “For me, I don’t try to focus on goals and assists because the things in my life always happen naturally,” he said. “So I don’t need to focus too much on one thing. I you do that, you don’t enjoy the moment.

“And right now I want to enjoy being with the team here in Spain, to get the coach’s ideas into my head as quick as possible to be prepared for the first game back in the Scottish Cup. These are the most important thing for me and after that the results will come naturally.”

Silva made his debut in the final game before the January shutdown as he was handed the final 20 minutes in the win over Kilmarnock. It was an encouraging first day in a blue shirt and the former Anderlecht and PSV forward hopes there will be better memories to come than his first visit to Ibrox.

He said: “The memories of that game with Porto for me are not so good because we lost that game - but I do remember that the environment at Ibrox is something special. When I found out that Rangers was an option for me, I told my family that when I played here with Porto, the atmosphere was crazy.

“I came on as a substitute in that game. It was good because after that I started to play a little but more for Porto. I remember meeting James Tavernier after that game because we had to do the doping control after the match.

“I don’t remember what we said so much. That game was, what, four or five years ago? But of course, Tav is an amazing player. He scores so many goals from right back. He’s a legend. Morelos stands out too. He was on fire that night.

“It was very nice for me to get some minutes against Kilmarnock. Me and the coach had to decide if I was going to play or not because I’d only trained a little. But now this week in Spain will allow me to get to know my team-mates and learn the dynamics of the team.

“The coach wanted to give me some minutes so I could feel the atmosphere in the stadium. It was nice, the result was good too and for me it was really special to make my debut at our stadium.”

So what can the Gers support expect from Silva once he’s bedded in? He said: “I’m not a ‘really really No.9’ because I don’t like to be static in the box, I like to move and change positions with other players.

“The manager wanted me to come here to help him with something different to bring to the team different dynamics because, I like to change positions and play one-twos, be more dynamic.”

Fabio Silva was speaking to promote Rangers’ friendly with Copenhagen at Ibrox on Tuesday. Tickets start from just £1 and can be purchased at rangers.co.uk