“When you think he’s injured or tired, he’d give you a hattrick or 4 goals” - Ex-Real Madrid star sums up ‘crazy’ Cristiano Ronaldo

Emmanuel Adebayor, who once shared the locker room with Cristiano Ronaldo at Real Madrid, delivered glowing praise for the Portuguese icon, describing him as the 'best' player he has ever played with.

Adebayor, who joined Los Blancos on loan from Manchester City in 2011, recalled how Ronaldo's mentality and hunger made him stand out. Speaking about his time with the five-time Ballon d'Or winner, Adebayor told Stadium Astro:

“Ronaldo is the best I’ve played with? For sure. In terms of personality, in terms of who wanted it the most, character… he’s just crazy. He’s someone who’d never give up. When you think he’s injured or tired, he’d give you a hattrick or 4 goals. He keeps going. And today, I'm not surprised, he's in the Saudi League and still scoring goals."

Emmanuel Adebayor's brief spell at Real Madrid coincided with Cristiano Ronaldo's peak years in Spain. The Togolese international spent only five months at the Spanish capital before returning to Manchester City.

In that period, he played with Ronaldo 18 times, with the duo combining for just one goal. While Adebayor has since retired from the sport, Ronaldo is still going strong at Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League.

"I don't know what he can do in training" - Emmanuel Adebayor on why he picked former Real Madrid teammate Cristiano Ronaldo ahead of Barcelona legend Lionel Messi

In the same interview, Adebayor weighed in on the never-ending debate between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. The Togolese threw his weight behind Ronaldo while acknowledging Messi's greatness.

However, he noted that he chose the Al-Nassr man over Messi because he trained with him and what he did during training.

"I would go for Ronaldo," Adebayor said. "I had nothing against Messi. Messi is one of the greatest to ever play football. I played against him while being a Real Madrid player. I'm choosing Ronaldo becaue i trained with Ronaldo. I played and shared the dressing room with him. I know what he can do. Obviously, I can see what Messi can do during games but i don't know what he can do in training So, for me, those are the only reason why I'm going for Ronaldo. For me, Ronaldo is a great player, fantastic player.

He added:

"If you ask me, even in my coffin, in between [Cristiano] Ronaldo and [Lionel] Messi, I will say go for Ronaldo. Because I play with him, I know how good he is. Messi, no doubt. One of the greatest. They are both in that league where I don't understand why people try to compare them. There is no comparison. We have to leave them in their own world. These two are extraterrestrials that have come across our generation. Today, I'm so proud that people will come to me and say, You used to play with Ronaldo. You used to play against Messi. For me, coming from Togo, it's a bonus."

Despite being past his prime, Cristiano Ronaldo has continued to display his footballing prowess. He is 54 goals away from reaching a thousand goals.