4 reasons for Cristiano Ronaldo's superhuman longevity

Cristiano Ronaldo is a phenomenon. It seems failure has not been able to touch him in the last 15 years. Cristiano's staggering statistics baffles many - but what's truly sensational is how he has managed to cement his legacy as one of the best players in the world for more than a decade.

Cristiano Ronaldo won everything there is to win with Manchester United before moving to Real Madrid. After moving to Spain, he became the greatest goalscorer of Los Blancos in just nine seasons.

He is the leading scorer in the Champions League with 121 goals in 158 appearances and helped Real Madrid win a plethora of trophies, including three consecutive Champions League titles.

While many great players of previous generations conquered the world, Cristiano's consistency and longevity are matched by very few. He will be 34 years old in the next week but he is still the top scorer of Serie A with 17 goals for Juventus.

Without further ado, let us evaluate the four reasons which kept Cristiano at his very best for more than a decade.

#4 Fitness Freak

We are all familiar with Ronaldo's alien-like capabilities on the pitch. The 33-year-old superstar is showing signs of slowing down but he is determined to play till 40 and not fade away. Almost a year ago, his medical report showed that he has the body of a 20-year-old, which is astonishing for any human being.

The test by Juventus' medical team revealed that he has a total body mass of 7 percent. For a footballer of his age, 10 percent is the average. Ronaldo has a muscle mass of 50 percent, while the average is 46 percent. Amazingly, Cristiano also recorded the fastest sprint in last year’s World Cup in Russia, a speed of 33.98 km per hour.

The mind-boggling fitness revelations only depict Cristiano's insane focus to his fitness. We all know how he took ice baths early in the morning and did other courageous training regimes to turn his skinny avatar into an absolute beast at Manchester United. This surely played a huge role in his career and helped him stay afloat at his very best over the last decade.

#3 Mental strength

Cristiano Ronaldo is unrelenting and unstoppable in the pursuit of his goals

Cristiano's hunger is insatiable. Despite conquering everything there is in football, the 33-year-old behaves like a kid and is always hungry for more goals and success. Even when Ronaldo met with failures initially at Real Madrid, he didn't give in and pursued his dream unrelentingly, which later propelled Los Blancos to unprecedented success in the modern era.

For instance, when Bayern Munich knocked out Real Madrid in the UCL semi-final in 2012, Cristiano was determined to help his team reach their aim. And he stopped at nothing till he became a champion in club football's toughest competition and made history by winning the Champions League three times in a row and four times in five seasons.

Moreover, considering the personal battle of prestigious individual awards like Ballon d'Or. Lionel Messi was ahead by a 4-1 margin at one point of time. But Cristiano is never the man to give up no matter what and it's sensational how he managed to equal Messi's number of Ballon d'Or at five in the last few years.

Besides the fact that Cristiano will not give up, he is always dedicated and motivated to compete with the best. These traits only add to his mental strength and make his will unmatched in the modern era.

#2 Versatility and dynamism

Cristiano Ronaldo's numerous abilities help him stay top of his game throughout the years

CR7's skill set stays unmatched in the modern era which makes him versatile, dynamic and unstoppable. While hard work played a huge part in shaping his career, Cristiano had various ammunition to propel himself towards greatness.

For instance, it is almost impossible to stop Cristiano by a specific defensive system or man marking even when he is 33. If he fails to beat a defender with his acceleration, he will use dribbling or trickery to move away. If he fails at beating the defender, he will pass and move or gain a foul or shoot from an improbable range- this makes him a constant threat over the years despite losing his pace.

Moreover, Cristiano is a champion of free spaces and his movements are extremely tough to comprehend for any defender in the world. Despite being off-colour this season, his staggering statistics in Serie A depict his dynamism as a forward- which played a pivotal role in shaping his career and making him unpredictable over the last 15 years.

#1 Constant evolution

Cristiano managed to be successful under different systems and different managers

The one thing which truly defines Ronaldo is his nature to constantly evolve with different systems in modern football. He constantly changed his game when deployed in different systems and dominated world football in an unprecedented manner.

When Cristiano arrived at United, he wanted to dribble past defenders, beat them with trickery and a show pony at times. But under the tutelage of Sir Alex Ferguson, he made himself more of a threat in the following seasons at the club, by being as efficient as anyone at the left wing.

At Real Madrid, Cristiano had to break down his old style and flair to settle into Jose Mourinho's defensive style of play. He was more of a machine and became a tremendous goalscorer while leading the team's counter attacks through the left flanks.

Later under Carlo Ancelotti and Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo prospered at being a free forward with Los Blancos. He could roam into spaces, pick the passes and score which helped him remain a world class player even after he reached 30-years-old. It is crystal clear that his own constant evolution on the pitch over the years helped him maintain the longevity to dominate world football for more than a decade.