CRISTIANO Ronaldo is a sporting freak, still banging them in at the age of 40.
Now the Portuguese superstar has a new aim – to be the first player since Pele to score 1,000 goals.
But how can this force of nature remain in supreme physical shape on the brink of his FIFTH decade?
Ricardo Setyon, who knows Ronaldo well, unveils the secrets that mean he is a truly unique phenomenon.
Ron the March
IT is a journey that has spanned 35 years, from his first days with the Swallows of Andorinha in his native Madeira, to the sands of Saudi Arabia and Al Nassr.
That saw Ronaldo lead Portugal to a second Nations League crown in June, a triumph that demonstrated his longevity is not the result of chance, but of a maniacal devotion to physical condition.
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The one-time “skinny” boy who transformed himself into an almost indestructible machine.
And whose focus has NEVER shifted at any point.
So how, in addition to the natural talent that took him above so many, did the boy scarred by his father’s alcoholism remain so determined to keep coming back for more – and match the scoring feat only reached by Pele, “The King”?
Simple: from the age of 11, when Ronaldo vowed to work harder than anyone else, to make health his lasting priority.
That meant more training than anyone else.
Arrive first, leave last.
Humiliated by branded “skinny” by his new Old Trafford team-mates in 2003, it ignited an obsession, a constant drive to sculpt his body like a weapon of war.
Now, while most of his peers have already retired, the sacrifice is not over.
Ronaldo still wants to work harder than anyone, to continue scoring and breaking records.
It means full-on sessions five times a week, a mix of explosive cardio and targeted weights.
Monday is leg day: lunges for endurance and balance, box jumps for vertical power, lateral jumps for agility, barbell squats for core strength, long jumps for acceleration.
Each exercise is done in a circuit.
Three times, to imprint the muscles with the memory needed to withstand the demands of top-level football.
This isn’t vanity training: his physical work is engineered to survive in professional football.
To fuel this machine, ruthless nutritional precision is needed.
Ronaldo eats six small meals a day, timed and spaced every three or four hours.
On his plate, only selected foods: lean proteins such as chicken, egg whites and fresh fish to repair muscles.
Complex carbohydrates from brown rice and quinoa for energy. Avocado and coconut oil for good fats.
Mountains of fresh vegetables for micronutrients.
No processed, fried or sugary foods. Plenty of steak and salad.
A diet that consumes 3,200 calories a day to fuel.
Ronaldo calls it his “Formula 1 Body”, explaining his lack of tattoos in similar vein: “Have you ever seen a Formula 1 car with plastic stickers?”
Following each work-out, recovery as a religion. After each training session, a “polyphasic sleep” nap of at least 90 minutes is sacred.
Since 2013 he has regularly practiced cryotherapy, subjecting himself to -100°C for three minutes, to reduce inflammation, with £50,000 cryochambers in all his homes.
Ronaldo has invested in advanced sleep technologies, hypoxic chambers, £28,000 HOGO mattresses, blackout curtains, electromagnetic field shielding, temperature and humidity control.
He obsessively monitors biometric data and works with a dozen doctors around the world to optimize every detail.
For years, he has collaborated with companies like Bioniq to receive customised supplements, based on weekly biometric analyses.
They are not generic vitamins, but personalised formulas to fill every deficiency detected in his blood tests.
Every detail, from rest to supplements, converges on a single goal: maintaining his explosive power and concentration.
Even in the off-season, his summer routine is a manual of discipline: wake up at 6 with an ice-cold dip, stretching in the sun, 90 minutes on the pitch.
It is a system that is rigid, implacable, habits that have turned time into an ally.
As a pioneer of science applied to sport.
Ronaldo has revolutionised the concept of athletic longevity, integrating technological innovations, data analysis and a multidisciplinary team of experts.
But his physical strength represents only half of his story.
The other half is a mental fortress created in the challenge of doubt, criticism and the weight of his history.
Ronaldo’s only goal is victory. Every day.
It’s not arrogance: it’s certainty cultivated over years of silencing detractors and transforming desperation into fuel.
When Manchester United fans saw him only as a boy who pretended too much, he did not ask for patience.
He instead trained in the shadows, sculpting not only the body but also the psychological part, transforming perceived weakness into steel faith.
Each major defeat was a spark to find strength. Every fall a puzzle to solve, a vulnerability to eliminate.
The accusations of selfishness in his Real Madrid days, claims he did not score in the matches that mattered, founded a burning anger that became goals and devastating performances.
The response: his gestures after goals, the finger on the lips, the open arms, the chest out, the shout of “Siiiiiuuuu”.
Matched against the other modern greats, Ronaldo was a physical monster.
When Neymar was injured, Ronaldo was always there.
When Zlatan Ibrahimovic collapsed in decisive moments, Ronaldo scored.
After seeing Ibrahimovic’s destroyed nails, he decided to take obsessive care of his feet: weekly sessions with the podiatrist, custom-made insoles, reinforced shoes and toenails painted black, a ritual borrowed from boxers to prevent infections and as psychological armour.
Even his fingernails are treated to the millimeter to avoid tears in aerial duels.
While the others rose and fell, Ronaldo’s hunger remained fixed. Even when he left Europe for the Gulf.
His career is a lesson in how to transform pressure into power and doubt into domination, a pursuit of perfection which goes beyond the field and the gym.
In over 1,200 games he has never been substituted due to fatigue.
Sir Alex Ferguson and Carlo Ancelotti confirm his extraordinary resistance.
And, of course, there is that unnatural spring, reaching up to 9ft 6in as he soars above taller defenders, hanging in the air like a basketball ace dunking in the net.
Now, too, he’s building a legacy with his son Cristiano Jr., sharing routine, diet and philosophy, teaching the same disciplines.
That 1000 goal target is close, now. Less than 70 goals away.
He intends to continue for years to come, nourishing the mind that commands the body, believing that limits are meant to be surpassed.
And proving that greatness, if pursued with discipline and intelligence, can truly be overcome.
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