No secrets, no miracles, it’s all about passion, says Ronaldo

Mohammad Abdullah, Staff Reporter

Juventus striker Cristiano Ronaldo poured his heart out during a candid conversation at the 14th International Sports Conference in Dubai on Saturday. He spoke at length about his passion, profession and fitness regimen.

He also elaborately explained how he manages to give stand-out performances at the age of 34 and what keeps him motivated.

“There are no secrets, no miracles. Obviously, with age, you become more mature. There are no coincidences. It is just the passion for what you do. I love to play football, which makes me happy. I have been doing it for years,” said Ronaldo.

Having won multiple Champions League, Premier League and Spanish League trophies with big clubs like Manchester United and Real Madrid, a European Championship with his native country Portugal, and most recently, an Italian League title with current team Juventus, there is very little left to achieve.

In spite of reaching the pinnacle of glory, Ronaldo keeps his feet firmly on the ground and does not let success get to his head.

“I am very ambitious. Ambition is part of what you are and in my case, the most important word is passion.

You have to be motivated to keep winning titles. It helps. You will never succeed if you don’t love what you do.”

“People cannot see behind the scenes. They cannot see the hard work done to achieve a goal. I am not here to prove anything as numbers speak for themselves,” stressed the star striker.

Ronaldo had a stellar year in 2019 as he appeared in 50 matches across different tournaments and scored a whopping 39 goals, winning three titles with his team Juventus, who are currently on the second spot in the Italian League with 42 points from 17 games.

Despite being at the top, Ronaldo has no plans to quit or slow down.

“I want to hang around for a few more years, though it is not possible to win all titles at stake. I know I have achieved a lot but there are others who also have achieved and seen success similar to mine. There are and have been many, many great players,” he added.

The urge to be the best is more than just playing football on the field.

“There are a lot of things involved and football makes up for only 30 per cent of it. It is a part of my living, it is my daily routine. When you are at the top, you have to sacrifice a lot of things. It is not about merely training 3 to 4 hours a day but it is a lot more than that.

“You have to sleep well to give rest to your body and take a balanced diet. I think I know my body very well and there are other athletes who have no idea about it. I always try to strike a balance.

“You have to think about excellence 24 hours to be at the top. You should take care of yourself and learn from the best. Physical and mental health both are equally important. It is like ingredients in a meal. There has to be a balance between everything.

“I always try to learn from the people around me, not only football but anything that I don’t know. If I have a question I will seek an answer to it,” he added.

The Portugal forward also dropped a hint on a career in showbiz after his retirement from football.

“I have to prepare for life after football. Say, I want to star in a movie, then I would have to learn acting, improve my English and not be nervous at the same time. I have to come out of my comfort zone to do all those things. After all, life does not end with football,” he asserted.

Talking about his age, which is often the subject of discussion of late, he said: “Age is just a number. Roger Federer and Nadal have defied their age. They have changed the way people look at ageing players. They are still dominating the tennis world. The most important thing is to motivate yourself and if I don’t feel motivated I will go to the club’s president and tell him not to count on me. I hope that never happens to me,” he added.

Ronaldo ruled out chasing Pele’s record of most goals.

“I never thought of the long-term. I think it is a natural process that happens by itself. I have no obsession of breaking Pele’s record.

“Pele will always be Pele. In the future there will be players who will break all my records and it goes on like this. You have to take things the way they are. Pele is an idol for every football player,” he concluded.