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Cristiano Ronaldo first burst onto the scene as a talented teenager when Sporting Lisbon faced Manchester United in a friendly in 2003. What followed was an exciting transfer as Sir Alex Ferguson brought the Portuguese to England. Since then, the man from Madeira has not looked back for once and has gone on to become a modern legend of the game.
Over nearly two decades, Cristiano Ronaldo has been a serial trophy winner wherever he has gone. The explosive forward initially started on the left wing and then shifted to the central position to become a goal machine. He even inspired the Portuguese national side to lift the Euros in 2016.
Despite being 36, Cristiano Ronaldo has shown no signs of stopping. He has his work cut out this season to help Manchester United return to their glory days.
Cristiano Ronaldo's training sets him aside from others
While many attacking footballers have slowed down significantly after turning 30, it has not been the case with Cristiano Ronaldo. Signs of age may have started showing, and Ronaldo may have had to adjust. However, Cristiano Ronaldo's impeccable training regime and health consciousness have helped him preserve a lot of abilities from his younger days.
The training routines have helped him upkeep his dominance. He has also shocked and astonished many of his teammates in the past throughout his playing days with his training methods.
Let's take a look at five of them:
#5 Arthur Melo
Arthur has been teammates of arguably the two finest specimens of modern football, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, unlike anyone else on this list. While there is no denying the Argentine's magic when it comes to football, Cristiano Ronaldo left a lasting impression on the Brazilian's mind.
Speaking to Desimpedidos, Arthur claimed how Cristiano Ronaldo was more expressive in the dressing room. The Brazilian was also left in awe after seeing Cristiano's training routines. He said:
"He trains like an animal, he doesn't know when to rest and he encourages you to give your all."
Arthur was awestruck by the training routine. He also expressed disbelief at the amount of self-restraint Cristiano Ronaldo has had while maintaining his own diet as well. He added:
"He always tells me what to eat, not leaving anything to chance."
#4 Blaise Matuidi
In 2018, Cristiano Ronaldo decided to test new waters after a glittering spell with Real Madrid and made the switch to Italian club Juventus. While it's easy for a player of his stature to inspire youngsters, senior pros like Blaise Matuidi have also taken inspiration from him.
People shouldn't forget how decorated a footballer Matuidi has been himself. Yet the Frenchman was all praise for the Portuguese when the latter joined his club post the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
There has never been any doubt about Cristiano Ronaldo's abilities and it was once again vouched for by Matuidi. Additionally, the French midfielder was astonished by Cristiano Ronaldo's efforts on the training ground. Speaking to Telefoot, Matuidi called Cristiano Ronaldo 'a monster' at training. He said:
"At work, he's a monster. He arrives first and leaves last. He's working, he's working ... I've never seen that and I understand better now why he's won the Ballon d'Or five times."
Matuidi also told L'Equipe how Cristiano would want to win everything, even if it was on the training ground. He added:
“Not him! He always wants to go higher. In training he always wants to win everything, he is not happy when he loses and I want to ensure you that it is not fake.”
#3 Dimitar Berbatov
Dimitar Berbatov spent only one full season at Manchester United before Cristiano Ronaldo switched to Real Madrid. However, one year was enough for Cristiano Ronaldo to leave a long impression on the Bulgarian. Not to forget, Berbatov was himself a superstar for Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United in the Premier League.
Despite Berbatov being a senior pro, he was amazed and astonished when he witnessed the training dedication of a younger Cristiano Ronaldo.
In an interview with AS Diario, Berbatov recalled how Cristiano was destined for greatness even at a younger age. He said:
“Training with him was like a war because I didn’t think about anything other than winning everything, including the little games we played."
Berbatov also added how Cristiano Ronaldo would always arrive at the gym on time and stay behind for extra work. He added:
"You’d come to training and he’d already be in the gym. Then, he’d stay for extra work after training to work on his finishing, before going swimming and then returning the gym. He was determined to be the best."
#2 Paul Scholes
Paul Scholes is a Manchester United legend who has gone through many battles during his time at the club. Suffice to say, Scholes has witnessed a number of youngsters coming through the club. But few have reached anywhere close to Cristiano Ronaldo at Old Trafford.
There were doubts about his abilities on his return to Old Trafford this season. But Cristiano Ronaldo has once again performed at the highest levels, scoring 13 goals already. It may have surprised a few but not Scholes, who knew the high standards the Portuguese maintains and expects of himself.
Speaking to Premier League Productions, Scholes described how Cristiano trained at the highest levels since his teenage days. He observed how it was strikingly different from what British footballers did back then. Scholes said:
“Cristiano did all of his practising before and after training. He also made sure he was stronger for the Premier League by going into the gym afterwards.”
Scholes also added:
"He was out there all day long, practising those free-kicks. His speed, he was sprinting up hills, he had weights on his ankles. He was doing everything that the likes of the British players hadn’t seen. That wasn’t it, he was in the gym afterwards, just doing everything to prepare himself."
#1 Patrice Evra
The Frenchman is known for his quirky comments and outspoken nature in his post-playing days. But even he had to bear the brunt of Cristiano Ronaldo's hardcore fitness regime. If someone asks Evra, he will advise them to avoid Cristiano Ronaldo's lunch invitation for it's also another workout.
Speaking to ITV in 2019, Evra recalled how Cristiano's invitation for lunch turned into an intense session. Evra expected some big meat after lunch but all he got was more football. He said:
"He just finished and he stood up and he started playing with a ball, doing some skills and he said, 'Let's do some two-touch.' It was then followed by swimming and sauna."
It confused Evra to the point where he wasn't sure if Cristiano Ronaldo had invited him for lunch or a football match. He added:
"So that's why I would recommend to anyone when Cristiano invite you to his house, don't go - just say no because this guy, he's a machine, he doesn't want to stop training."
