- Ronaldo celebrated his 40th birthday by wearing cryo compression boots
- He has revealed that friends have told him he has ‘no life’ outside of football
- LISTEN NOW: It’s All Kicking Off! We need Arsenal’s personality! This needle is what the Premier League is all about!
Cristiano Ronaldo has admitted his friends fear he has ‘no life’ outside of football as he prepares to play on beyond his 40th birthday.
Ronaldo turns 40 today, and celebrated the landmark birthday in unusual style by donning a pair of £4,000 compression boots at his home in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday night.
The Portuguese superstar posted a photo of himself wearing the boots – which aid muscle recovery and optimise athletic performance – on Instagram, alongside the caption ‘last cryosport before 40’.
The photo encapsulated his dedication to remaining at the top of his game, and he has revealed his friends have spoken to him about the sacrifices he has made to keep playing.
But Ronaldo insists he still loves what he is doing, and has no intention of retiring just yet.
Speaking to Canal 11, Ronaldo said: ‘If you say to me “do you still like training?” I still like training. Is it the same as I felt when I was 20? No, it’s not the same.
‘But I still feel the passion. Of doing a finishing training, of being there competing with others, left foot, right foot. I still like it.
‘And it’s strange, there are a lot of my friends who say “you have no life”. It’s true, but I like it. I know it will end. In a year, or two, or three. I don’t know. And I don’t care either.’
Ronaldo is aware that he will not be able to play forever, but is not interested in living a quiet life with his partner Georgina Rodriguez when he does hang up his boots.
He fuelled rumours that the pair tied the knot when he referred to Rodriguez as ‘my wife’ in an Instagram post on her 31st birthday last week.
But his retirement from playing will not necessarily lead to them spending more time together, as Ronaldo has already set his sights on moving into club ownership.
Having branded some his previous managers ‘f***ing clueless’ in a recent interview, Ronaldo will not target a career on the touchline, but he is keen to be heavily involved behind the scenes at multiple clubs in the future.
He added: ‘Being a club manager doesn’t make any sense, because if I have the possibility of being an owner, why should I be a manager, sporting director or CEO? That’s my dream.
‘I’m sure I will be. And I’ll even say more. I hope not to have just one club, I hope to have several.’
