“We've had to stop doing it!” – Cristiano Ronaldo signing forced Real Madrid players to stop practicing a technique, says ex-teammate

Former Real Madrid midfielder Royston Drenthe revealed that they were forced to stop copying Cristiano Ronaldo during freekick training when the Portuguese superstar joined the club in 2009.

Drenthe spent five years at the Madrid club between 2008 and 2012. While he often spent loan spells away from the club, Drenthe was in the team when Ronaldo joined in 2009 for a world record fee from Manchester United.

Speaking about Ronaldo's arrival, Drenthe said (via The Sun):

“We won the league in my first season at Madrid, and I managed to play a big part in the first-team, too. Then, at the end of the next season, we had the summer of huge arrivals, with Karim Benzema, Xabi Alonso, Kaka and, of course, Cristiano Ronaldo all coming in."

He added:

“I'd be lying if I said we weren't excited by this - but at the same time, we were Real Madrid players ourselves; we were professionals, we were already a strong side. It was great for them to join up with us, though. It's funny, actually... prior to Ronaldo joining, before we knew that deal was going to happen, quite often after training there'd be myself, Arjen Robben, Wesley Sneijder and a few of the other guys, all practising free-kicks."

Speaking about how they had to stop the drill, Drenthe said:

“We always used to pretend to be Ronaldo, and copy that famous pose he used to do before his run-up. The next thing you know, he's signed for us and we've had to stop doing it!”

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Royston Drenthe revealed how Cristiano Ronaldo used to get mobbed after joining Real Madrid and praised the Portuguese's work ethic

Real Madrid CF Training and Press Confernece

When Cristiano Ronaldo joined Real Madrid in 2009, he was already a Ballon d'Or winner and one of the biggest superstars in world football. Drenthe claimed the Portuguese used to get crowded out often.

Speaking about how the Madrid crowd received Ronaldo, he said:

"When he [Cristiano Ronaldo] joined, it was crazy. The guy couldn't go anywhere, he couldn't do anything, without being pictured, or without crowds of people following him. We all experienced it to some extent because, at the end of the day, we were playing for one of the biggest clubs in the world, but nowhere near the same level as Cristiano had it."

Drenthe further lauded the Portugal captain's work ethic and professionalism, telling:

“He was an incredible guy, though - I loved my time with him. Again, you hear it so often but he really was the ultimate professional. He did the things none of us enjoyed doing, religiously. He never cut corners, he set the perfect example. He was a top, top guy, and it's no surprise he went on to have the career he had and set the records he's set.”

Cristiano Ronaldo went on to become the highest goalscorer in the history of Real Madrid. He scored 450 goals in 438 matches. The Portuguese ace helped Los Blancos win three back-to-back UEFA Champions League titles before leaving the club for Juventus in 2018.