Former Manchester United defender Gary Neville compared Cristiano Ronaldo’s physique to that of a professional boxer.
Ronaldo was one of the first footballers of the modern era to transform his body into one that could keep him at the top of the sport well into his thirties.
Even now he continues to represent the Portuguese national team, and scores at a fearsome pace in the Saudi Pro League.
Neville was a team-mate of Ronaldo at United in the early years of his Old Trafford career, where he changed from a slight winger into a more heavy-set and robust forward.
Speaking to Sky Bet, Neville compared Ronaldo with another of his former colleagues, Wayne Rooney.
He said: “Their body shapes were different [Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney]. I say that respectfully, in terms of Wazza had more of a square, strong shape. Whilst Cristiano had this physique like a super middleweight boxer, he was in the gym everyday doing pre activation.
“He would stay afterwards [training] and do all sorts, the ice bath, he had all of the stuff in his house. To be fair, Wazza, if you ask him, liked to drink and go out a little bit, and his body shape was different, but they were both unbelievable players.
“Cristiano just went on and he is still going on now, you’ve seen what he has got, I mean it's unbelievable.
“Your [Trent Alexander-Arnold] body shape is similar to Cristiano’s in the sense of when he first came in and obviously you got stronger, he got stronger.”
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