Ronaldo won't pressure his son to become a footballer but 'would like it' to happen

Cristiano Ronaldo has insisted he will put no pressure on his son to pursue a career as a footballer, even though the Juventus superstar has said he "would like it" to happen.

The Portugal international has been at the summit of the game for more than a decade, dominating football alongside Lionel Messi, but he is now in the tail end of his career at the age of 35.

He was named Player of the Century at the Globe Soccer Awards  on Sunday, and said in his acceptance speech that children need to be shown the right path into the game.

His own son, Cristiano Jnr, has been showing promise and is part of the Juventus academy.

Ronaldo is famed for his work ethic and has attempted to instil drive into his son, although he has admitted it can be difficult to persuade a 10-year-old to take an ice bath.

“Sometimes he drinks coke, sodas and eats crisps and he knows it makes me angry,” Ronaldo said, according to A Bola .

"Sometimes I tell my son after a run on the treadmill to dive into the cold water to recover and he says: ‘Dad, it’s so cold there.’ That’s fine, it is normal, he is only 10 years old."

While his son has been making good strides with the Juventus academy, there will be no pressure from his father to forge a career in football.

“We’ll see if my son will become a great footballer,” Ronaldo said. "He has potential. He is fast and dribbles well, but that is not enough. I always tell him that it takes work and dedication to have success.

“I won’t pressure him to become a footballer, but if you ask me if I want him to, yes I would like it. The most important thing is to become the best at whatever he does, whether it is as a footballer or a doctor.”

Ronaldo’s current focus is on firing Juventus back into the Serie A title race. They have lifted the trophy for the past nine seasons but they are 10 points adrift of leaders AC Milan, albeit with a game in hand, and were beaten 3-0 by Fiorentina in their final outing before the winter break.

Juventus resume their Serie A campaign with a clash against Udinese on January 3. Three days later they take on AC Milan.