Cristiano Ronaldo of Al Nassr FC lines up
Cristiano Ronaldo of Al Nassr FC lines up (Image: Noushad Thekkayil/NurPhoto)
Rafael van der Vaart joked he never saw Cristiano Ronaldo's 'willy', as an illustration of the intensity of the former Manchester United star's application to the sport.
Van der Vaart was teammates with the Portugal international for a single season at Real Madrid but Ronaldo wasted little time in leaving a mark on the Dutchman. After arriving at the Bernabeu in a record £80million deal from United, Ronaldo scored 33 goals in 35 appearances in 2009/10 though the La Liga giants went trophyless that season.
Ronaldo went on to win two La Liga titles and four Champions Leagues with Real, and four Ballon d'Or wins while in the Spanish capital. Few players can boast close to such a footballing CV.
Ex-Tottenham midfielder Van der Vaart was left in awe of Ronaldo's training regimen to reach such standards. And with his tongue-in-cheek remark explained how he was left in awe of the forward's work ethic.
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The 41-year-old told talkSPORT's The LineUp: "He never left his house! I always say as a joke, Ronaldo is the only player that I never saw his willy! He was the first one on the training [pitch]! And the last one who went. First of all his body, wow! A machine. He was a little bit ahead of his time, players now are the same. But his training in the gym, food, sleep. For him that was more important than training extra hard."
"Ronaldo was so unbelievably selfish, if we won 6-0 and he did not score, he was not happy," added Van der Vaart. "When we lose but he scored twice, it'd be alright!"
It was not a mindset that Ronaldo's former teammate took issue with however. Van der Vaart even likened the attitude to that of another Manchester United great and new Leicester City boss Ruud van Nistelrooy.
Cristiano Ronaldo of Real Madrid celebrates Rafael Van Der Vaart
"No, no! It was just that he needs to score," said Van der Vaart. "It was the same with Ruud van Nistelrooy, I had so many chats with him and it was so interesting because he was always like 'I need my goals! I need my goals!'"
Ronaldo eventually left Real Madrid after scoring 451 gals in 438 appearances and saw moves to Juventus, Manchester United and now plays for Saudi Pro League side Al Nassr. Earlier this season the 39-year-old star recorded his 900th goal and has continued his impressive scoring rate in the Middle East with 79 goals in 88 games.
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