Cristiano Ronaldo is considered by many to be the best footballer of all time, and one former team-mate has accredited his success to one particular habit he couldn’t ignore
Former Juventus midfielder Blaise Matuidi has laid bare the tireless work ethic that’s made Cristiano Ronaldo arguably the best of all time. Matuidi, 38, spent two seasons playing alongside Ronaldo in Turin, where he got a first-hand look at the processes that have shaped the five-time Ballon d’Or-winner.
Ronaldo has won just about every major trophy available to him over the course of his 23 years in professional football to date. And the 40-year-old, currently plying his trade for Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League, continues to operate at elite levels even far beyond the average retirement age.
It was Ronaldo wearing the captain’s armband as Portugal beat Spain to lift the UEFA Nations League title for the second time in June. Many thought the veteran was heading to Saudi Arabia for an easy retirement in 2023, but he has also clinched the division’s Golden Boot in the last two campaigns.
These things don’t happen by chance, however, and Matuidi has seen the work behind the scenes that maketh the man. Even if that means getting a quick workout in in the wee hours when most of his peers are sleeping.
“Cristiano was an incredible professional, obsessed with work,” said the World Cup-winner in an interview with Italian daily Tuttosport. “One night we returned to Continassa at 2am after a league match to retrieve our cars.
“We were exhausted, but he still persuaded [former Juventus defender Mehdi] Benatia to accompany him to the gym for some recovery work. I thought he was crazy [laughs]. Ronaldo was like that, he never stopped. That’s the secret of his success and why he still manages to make a difference today.”
It perhaps shouldn’t come as a surprise that one as successful as Ronaldo is of the opinion sleep is for the weak. After all, one doesn’t get a physique like his at 40 years of age without putting in the work at times when others would rather rest.
Ronaldo and Matuidi won two Serie A titles during their time together with the Bianconeri. Ronaldo was named Serie A Footballer of the Year in both 2019 and 2020, averaging around 34 goals per season across his three campaigns in Italy.
The consummate professional isn’t accustomed to letting his own standards slip, nor those around him. Ronaldo’s tale is far from finished, too, after penning a fresh two-year deal with Al-Nassr in June.
And former France anchor Matuidi isn’t the first team-mate to be blown away by the high standards Ronaldo insists on driving off the field. Former Manchester United colleague Patrice Evra was also taken aback to see the lengths ‘CR7’ will go to in order to ensure he remains ahead of the competition.
“I would give advice to anybody, when Cristiano invites you for lunch at his house, just say no,” he said on the ITV World Cup podcast. “He once said, ‘Patrice, come over after training.’ I went, you know I was really tired, [and] at the table there was only salad and plain white chicken so I was like, okay, and water, not any juice.
“We started eating and I was thinking some big meat would be coming after that but there was nothing. 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.’ I was like, can I just finish eating?
“He said ‘No, no let’s play two-touch.’ We start playing two touch. After that he said let’s go to the pool to swim, I was like okay… after going in the jacuzzi, the sauna, I’m done. I say, ‘Cristiano, why have we come here? Have we come here because we have a game tomorrow, or just for lunch?'”
It gives some insight as to what one can expect to undertake if they want to reach the top of the game. Unsurprisingly, not everyone is cut out to go to those lengths.
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