'He stood in front of the mirror and analysed every inch of his body': Former teammate reveals Ronaldo's bizarre routine at Sporting

Juventus v Manchester United - UEFA Champions League Group H
Juventus v Manchester United - UEFA Champions League Group H

What's the story?

Former Sporting Lisbon striker Vitaly Kutuzov has opened up about his loan spell at the Portuguese outfit, and has revealed a bizarre routine that Cristiano Ronaldo had to take care of his body.

In case you didn't know...

Ronaldo emerged from the youth system at Sporting Lisbon, where he spent six years, before making 31 first team appearances for the club between 2002-03. The Portuguese talisman attracted the interest of Premier League giants Manchester United, to where he moved and rose to stardom under Sir Alex Ferguson.

After winning titles with the Manchester outfit, he joined LaLiga giants Real Madrid, where he established himself as one of the greatest football players on the planet. He spent nine years at the Santiago Bernabeu before moving to Serie A champions Juventus last summer.

Since then, the 34-year-old has won the Supercoppa Italiana and the Serie A title with the Old Lady.

The heart of the matter

Speaking to Gazzetta dello Sport, Ronaldo's former teammate Kutuzov recalled that the five-time Ballon d'Or winner was intrigued by the fact that he arrived from AC Milan, saying (via Calciamercato), "Cristiano knew I came from AC Milan and he asked me a thousand questions: in those days, wearing the Rossoneri shirt was the absolute top. He asked me about Maldini, Costacurta, Inzaghi and Sheva. He wanted to know how the champions of that team trained at Milanello and how they progressed physically."

The Belarusian revealed that Ronaldo had an "above average" body care routine saying, "He had above average body care, I didn't see anyone like that ever. In the locker room, he took off his shirt and stood in front of the mirror for a long time. He analysed every inch of his body: shoulders, abdomen, legs."

"He spent a lot of time in the gym, asking everyone how to grow stronger. But he didn't do it to go on the magazine cover, he wanted to become a better footballer."

What's next?

After having won the Serie A title recently, Juventus are seeing out the rest of the season, and will next face Torino on Friday night.

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Edited by Sai Krishna