Cristiano Ronaldo: 3 Desperate Measures Portuguese Star Took as A Kid to Gain More Muscle

• Cristiano Ronaldo is known for having one of the best physiques in football, which has helped him succeed in the sport
• Even at 37, the Portuguese superstar is showing no signs of slowing down and is fitter than the average football player
• It was not always this way in the past, as Ronaldo grew up as a scrawny child who was often bullied and teased

Cristiano Ronaldo had the mindset of a champion from his early days, and resorted to some extreme methods to win in his football career.

Presently 37 years old, Ronaldo is considered one of the greatest ever football players to grace the game, but nothing ever came easy for him.

This includes his physique, which he had to work extremely hard to cultivate early on in his career as a young aspiring footballer.

As cited in the book Messi vs Ronaldo: One Rivalry, Two GOATs, Ronaldo was absorbed into the Sporting Lisbon academy as a young skinny boy who had a lot to prove.

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Athletics

Aside from the fact that Ronaldo did not excel in school, he also struggled with physical fitness after he decided to solely focus on football.

As per The Sun, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner was initially not allowed in the gymnasium.

Aged 14, Ronaldo made the personal decision to try to bulk up so he could not easily get knocked off the ball.

At the time, there were strict limits to the time young players were allowed to train, and Ronaldo had to improvise to achieve his goals.

For one thing, he would sneak out of the dormitory to go to the gym to lift weights, despite the constant punishments he received as a result.

Once the relevant authorities caught up to his mischief, Ronaldo resorted to taking buckets full of water into showers after training where he would lift them.

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Football

Eventually, the buckets were taken away, but that did not stop him as he strapped weights to his ankles and started racing cars on the streets.

Ronaldo nearly quit football

Sports Brief also earlier reported on an interesting tale of how Ronaldo almost quit football earlier in his career.

Before he was the household name people know and love today, Ronaldo was a simple boy from Madeira, Portugal, who had big dreams of playing football at top level.

According to the newly-published book, Ronaldo struggled with a number of things including being teased for his heavy accent, getting into bust-ups in the schoolyard, and crying every day because he missed his parents and siblings who were back in Madeira.