At 35 years, Cristiano Ronaldo remains one of the best in his game worldwide, having been ranked in the Ballon d’Or list for 16 years in a row and aiming for the 17th. That is an absolute record which the Portuguese may even surpass in the coming years.
Having scored 25 goals for Juventus and 11 goals for Portugal this season until early March, Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the big favorites for the Unibet Ballon d’Or 2020.
With +900 odds, Cristiano Ronaldo is currently being ranked third, after Lionel Messi (+300) and Kylian Mbappe (+800). The three are followed by Neymar (+1000), Virgil van Dijk and Kevin de Bruyne (+1400 each). At seventh place we find the new wonder kid Erling Haaland, sharing the same +2200 Ballon d’Or odds with Robert Lewandowski.
Back to Cristiano Ronaldo, having scored almost 750 goals in roughly 1000 games in a career of about 20 years, going from a trophy to another trophy and from a record to another record means a gigantic work, and he still finds himself at the top of the worlds football.
One of the ways he does that is by strictly following his own rituals before the games:
Sleep
Cristiano Ronaldo values a lot resting before the games, which is good for the recovery of the muscles. He says that he is used to go to bed early and to wake up early, especially in matchdays.
Short workout
The attacker emphasizes that doing workout in the morning, even in the bedroom, helps the muscles. The same goes for before going to bed, and abs are some of his favorite workouts.
Light and balanced diet
There is no secret that diet goes hand in hand with being healthy, so Cristiano Ronaldo stresses how important is a balanced diet – with lots of proteins and carbs, but also fruits and vegetables, but no sugary foods. Also, the player mentions that he eats up to six small meals a day, to have energy for each training session.
Music helps focusing
On matchdays, Cristiano Ronaldo goes very focused to the stadium and is concentrated on the match. Stretching and warming up help a lot before the game, but so does music. What type? Well, hip hop and reggae.
Recovery
After match activity is also important, and first thing on the list is the recovery, which the Portuguese thinks is more important than the training sessions. And is not just physical activity for recovery, but also food, so he enjoys some pizza, fruits and carbs.
Baths
Now that the matches and dinner are over, the footballer takes the bath, either hot or cold. In fact, he even alternates between them for about half an hour, stimulating the blood flow and relieving the pain.
Spa
After the bath, he goes to the spa, which also helps his circulation and reduces inflammations, due to the high-pressure jet.
Going to the pool
One of his rituals is going to the pool. And by this he does not mean relaxing, but swimming and other water training sessions.
Turkish baths
His rituals go on with a Turkish bath, which he takes for about 5 minutes. The high temperature water helps him reduce adrenaline and stress after the match.
This is a part of his success and what helped him win five Ballon d’Or in the past 12 years and be in top three finalists for the last 13 years, with just one exception.