View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Soccer Laduma (@soccer_laduma)

Ex-Manchester United star Nicky Butt: Cristiano Ronaldo was obsessed

One of Cristiano Ronaldo's former teammates has revealed that the Portuguese forward was so obsessed with football that he had to be forced to leave the training pitch at times.

Manchester United's newest signing is known for his commitment to fitness, with many former coaches and colleagues having shared their testimonies of Ronaldo's work ethic and attitude towards to the game.

Scroll through the gallery to see five records Ronaldo holds in the UCL, per GiveMeSport

In the 36-year-old's iconic first appearance for the Red Devils, against Bolton Wanderers in the 2003/04 campaign, he replaced Nicky Butt, and the English midfielder has now seemingly revealed the methods to five-time Ballon d'Or winner's madness in a new book titled Viva Ronaldo: The Second Coming of Cristiano.

"It is often said that certain players worked hard, stayed behind for some extra training or to practise their techniques, but with Cristiano it was total dedication, total commitment, and total hard work," Butt said, according to The Sun.

"It all went beyond dedication, he was obsessed with football.

"You see it all the time when some players talk about their dedication and how much extra practise they put in.

Read: Solskjaer praises record-breaking Ronaldo

"But often it is little more than a pretence, maybe a touch more time practising and then rush off to do something else they are keen on, or can't wait to go home and have something to eat, but rarely do you find someone totally committed 24/7 to the game, but Cristiano was one of those.

"He was the last to leave the building. In fact, you couldn't get him off the training pitch as he worked relentlessly on his techniques, as we all walking off he was carrying a bag of balls to work on those techniques.

"We would be having lunch in the canteen or getting ready to go home and you could hear the voice of Sir Alex bellowing across the training fields at two or three o'clock in the afternoon, shouting at Cristiano that it was time to get off the pitch as 'We have a game in two days – enough now'!"

Here are the world's highest-paid footballers in 2021, including Ronaldo, according to Forbes 

10. Eden Hazard (Real Madrid) - $29 million
10. Eden Hazard (Real Madrid) - $29 million
9. Gareth Bale (Real Madrid) - $32 million
9. Gareth Bale (Real Madrid) - $32 million
8. Paul Pogba (Manchester United) - $34 million
8. Paul Pogba (Manchester United) - $34 million
7. Andres Iniesta (Vissel Kobe) - $35 million
7. Andres Iniesta (Vissel Kobe) - $35 million
6. Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich) - $35 millio
6. Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich) - $35 million
5. Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) - $41 million
5. Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) - $41 million
4. Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain) - $43 milli
4. Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain) - $43 million
3. Neymar (Paris Saint-Germain) - $95 million
3. Neymar (Paris Saint-Germain) - $95 million
2. Lionel Messi (Paris Saint-Germain) - $110 milli
2. Lionel Messi (Paris Saint-Germain) - $110 million
1. Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United) - $125 mi
1. Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United) - $125 million

Comments