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Danny Drinkwater opened up about how former Manchester United winger Cristiano Ronaldo inspired him to hit the gym on a regular basis back in the summer of 2004.
Drinkwater, who won the league with Leicester City and the FA Cup with Chelsea, came through the ranks at Manchester United and was a part of the club until 2012. He did not make any senior appearances but did train with Ronaldo during the latter's first spell at the club.
Drinkwater recalled the summer of 2004 when Ronaldo underwent an immense physical transformation due to consistently hitting the gym. Speaking to High Performance Podcast, via Manchester Evening News, he said:
"There was this one summer. Cristiano Ronaldo had been there for nine or ten months. The season ended and he left that summer and he wasn't this big machine, he was like a thin, young teenager as it was.
"He came back after that summer and he looked like he'd just grown. It was crazy. You're looking at that and you're thinking, 'that's where I need to get to, that's the kind of level'."
He added:
"I remember that whole summer, that whole season, I just absolutely smashed the gym because of what I'd seen in him. I just didn't get out of the gym all summer."
Drinkwater recently announced his retirement from the game on October 30, after last playing professionally for Reading back in 2022, while on loan from Chelsea.
Cristiano Ronaldo has hit 43 goals at the age of 38 since leaving Manchester United last December
Ronaldo's reunion at Manchester United in the summer of 2022 did not go according to plan. After a decent personal first season, where he bagged 24 goals, Ronaldo failed to make himself valuable to Erik ten Hag last season.
He spoke out against the manager and the club, eventually leading to a premature but mutual termination of his contract. He joined Saudi Pro League club Al Nassr in December 2022.
Since then he has netted 43 goals for club and country, with 28 goals and 10 assists coming for Al Nassr in 33 games. He is currently the highest goal scorer for the year 2023.
