‘Everyone wants to be Cristiano’ – Ronaldo explains secrets to remaining unique & stopping his crown from slipping

While many aspire to be like the five-time Ballon d’Or, few can claim to have scaled such heights. Outside of eternal rival Lionel Messi, Ronaldo has forged a career out of ensuring that a bar of individual brilliance remains beyond reach for most domestic and international rivals.

He will go down in history as one of the greatest of all-time, with the record books being rewritten on a regular basis. Ronaldo has ensured that his crown never slips, as he now stars in Saudi Arabia for Al-Nassr, and has no intention of allowing his fabled work rate to fade.

Ronaldo has told the Whoop podcast of maintaining remarkable standards: “Talent without work is nothing and work without talent is nothing. They have to work together at the same time. I have both. I can't say that I have more of one than the other. Small details will make the difference. Consistency is the most difficult thing. Are you willing to do that? That's the main point because everyone wants to be Cristiano, but doing it is difficult. Discipline is the most difficult thing. I fight against my mind sometimes, we are all human beings. Of course, I don't like going to the gym every day, no one does, but you have to do it.”

Ronaldo is still going strong at 39 years of age, with 48 goals recorded for Al-Nassr this season, and retirement remains some way off for the Portugal international as he sees a contract extension mooted that will take him well beyond a 40th birthday in February 2025.