‘Don’t know how he’s scoring goals’ – Cristiano Ronaldo leaves Man Utd legend with exploits at 40 years of age

Despite reaching a point in his career where most players have already hung up their boots, five-time Ballon d’Or winner Ronaldo is still going strong. He has maintained prolific goal-getting standards in the Saudi Pro League with Al-Nassr, while surging beyond 200 caps for his country.

Ronaldo has hinted at playing on for a few years yet, as he chases down 1,000 goals, and Sheringham sees no reason for the all-time great to retire as he continues to make a mockery of the challenges that performers of his vintage should face.

Ex-Manchester United striker Sheringham, who played Premier League football into his 40s, has told finaria.it of Ronaldo’s longevity: “Well, he's a physical specimen. He's getting the most out of his body because he's looked into what can prolong his career and to make him flourish for as long as he can. He’s phenomenal. He’s pushing boundaries. I don’t know how he’s scoring goals.

“People question the quality of the Saudi league, but there’s a lot of footballers going over to Saudi. He’s playing against professionals; you’ve still got to get up for it. It’s not easy to play when you go past 35, 37. It gets harder on your body to prepare for the next game. If he says he’s the best, he’s the best.”

Sheringham added on CR7 defying sporting and biological logic: “It’s tough. You’ve got to be lucky with injuries, you’ve got to avoid those big, nasty injuries that take their toll. Your desire has to stay there, too. You have to want to carry on. You get knocks, you rarely play injury-free anyway.

“When you get to 37, 39, it becomes even harder with knocks that take 10% off your agility, and you’ve already lost some compared to younger players. Trying to carry on through that is tough, to compete against twenty-something players flying around the pitch. Good on him that he’s still loving his life.”

Ronaldo leads the Saudi Pro League Golden Boot race this season ahead of former Real Madrid team-mate Karim Benzema, with 24 goals recorded across all competitions, and is expected to sign a new contract in the Middle East that will take him through to the 2026 World Cup finals.