Royston Drenthe has been impressed by the Portuguese superstar during his time as a teammate of Cristiano Ronaldo. The now 34-year-old Drenthe played one season together with Ronaldo at Real Madrid from the summer of 2009 and tells opposite Football International about his experiences with the current striker of Manchester United.
Ronaldo is known for his impressive physical condition and Drenthe experienced first-hand how the Portuguese takes care of himself. “The stories were confirmed,” says the left-back, who currently plays for Racing Murcia. “I didn’t do much extra around that age myself. 75 percent of the group had treatment after training, took a shower and then went home immediately. Then he was doing extra training in the gym or practicing free kicks. I saw that he invested a lot more in himself than the average footballer.”
Ronaldo also clearly distinguished himself from the rest in the field of nutrition. “Then he was always the type who could stay away from the jamón,” Drenthe recalls. “One slice and that was it. In the meantime we just went wild and just ate. Training again tomorrow, you know? It’s all good!Ronaldo certainly didn’t drink any alcohol. “I’ve never seen Cris drink, man.”
Drenthe wishes Ronaldo the success. “I can only admire him as a person,” says the single the Dutch international. “I think it’s cool to see how he handles everything. A lot of people have an opinion about him without ever having a word with him. Success is one thing. You have success to a certain extent, as I have had. But he’s just more than success. If you can handle that, you’re just a really big one. He’s so eager now, which will make it work again in England. He’s such a man. Cris wants to continue until he’s forty .”
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