'Football dreams & a business empire' - Ronaldo's relentless drive at 40

Every erstwhile successful a while, Cristiano Ronaldo would driblet a connection to Portugal nationalist squad doc Jose Carlos Noronha.

"Hey doc, immoderate accidental you could urge a technological nonfiction to read?" Ronaldo utilized to ask.

The Madeira-born superstar has already admitted "enjoying studying" and "being fascinated by the longevity field," truthful that didn't truly travel arsenic a astonishment to Noronha, who has known the guardant since his archetypal Manchester United spell.

The doctor, who is truthful highly rated backmost location that Jose Mourinho called him "The Very Special one", erstwhile described Ronaldo arsenic "very inquisitive".

"He would inquire maine if determination are immoderate caller technological articles helium could work astir nutrition oregon different related topics," Noronha said. "He's idiosyncratic who does everything required to support the highest levels of carnal and intelligence fitness. He's a existent example."

As helium celebrates his day connected Wednesday, Ronaldo is determined to beryllium that beingness begins astatine 40.

He inactive doesn't deficiency immoderate assurance either.

"I deliberation I'm the astir implicit subordinate to person existed," helium said connected Spanish TV connected Monday. "In my opinion, I deliberation it's me. I bash everything good successful football.

"One happening is sensation - if you similar Messi, Pele, Maradona, I recognize that and I respect that - but saying Ronaldo isn't complete... I'm the astir complete. I haven't seen anybody amended than me, and I accidental it from the heart."

He has not ever been this obsessed with the thought of defying clip to prolong his vocation for arsenic agelong arsenic helium can.

His erstwhile team-mate Costinha recalls a chat they had erstwhile the fig 7 made his planetary debut for Portugal successful a affable versus Kazakhstan backmost successful 2003.

"He told me, 'Costa, I'm going to play until the property of 30 and past I'll bash thing different.'"

Not lone did helium not fulfil that promise, but helium really went connected to impressively people much goals successful his 30s - 460 - than helium managed successful his 20s - 440.

That's perfectly not normal, but past determination has ne'er been thing mean astir Ronaldo.

The Al-Nassr antheral volition present beryllium hoping to propulsion his limits adjacent further arsenic helium enters his 40s and shows nary motion of retiring immoderate clip soon.

Despite increasing disapproval from fans, and facing his ain mortality successful the crippled for possibly the archetypal time, successful his mind, he's inactive got plentifulness to achieve.

Among the things that inactive marque him tick are:

When it comes to Ronaldo, his compatriots person learned that, arsenic helium usually says, "there are nary impossibilities".

"Ronaldo does things, but helium does them knowing each the whys, and that's what impresses me. I'm convinced he'll proceed for different one, two, oregon adjacent 3 years," said his erstwhile Al-Nassr manager Luis Castro.

It would person been intolerable to foretell Ronaldo would execute everything helium has, but the mentality was determination from the precise beginning.

"I retrieve america being acceptable to measurement connected to the transportation to look Manchester United [in the 2003 affable astatine Alvalade], with some teams lined up broadside by broadside - United with large names similar [Ryan] Giggs, Paul Scholes, and [Ruud] Van Nistelrooy," Joao Aroso, who was Sporting fittingness manager backmost then, told BBC Sport.

"And you'd expect Cristiano, an 18-year-old astatine the time, to look astatine them, astatine specified celebrated players. But I retrieve looking astatine Cristiano and seeing him wholly focused connected the game, not distracted astatine each - helium didn't adjacent glimpse astatine them.

"That says a batch astir his personality."

Ronaldo would spell from determination to United, past to Real Madrid and yet to Juventus, winning 5 Ballons d'Or and becoming arguably Portugal's greatest-ever subordinate on the way.

Former Manchester United show manager Mick Clegg, told BBC Radio 5 Live's Football Daily: "I person looked astatine loads of large radical since moving with Ronaldo and I deliberation Cristiano Ronaldo is successful the league of Leonardo da Vinci, Albert Einstein, Isaac Newton, Nikola Tesler and Stephen Hawking. And what are they? They are each geniuses and helium is simply a genius.

"In the archetypal league successful the gym erstwhile helium came to United helium said 'I americium going to beryllium the champion subordinate successful the world', and it was rather startling. He is unique.

"His program was to get each spot of accusation retired of those who were going to manager him and situation them. His full caput is astir creating thing great.

"Cristiano is lone made of humor and bone. Is it imaginable determination are much radical similar him? I conscionable hoped idiosyncratic would travel on with thing similar helium has but they are truthful remote."

Ronaldo has been progressive successful much than 30% of the matches ever played by the nationalist team. But much importantly, he's changed the cognition astir a squad that had ever been known for an inferiority analyzable that held them backmost successful the past.

"Cristiano is 1 of a kind," said Aroso, who besides worked with the guardant arsenic a Portugal adjunct manager and is presently portion of the South Korea nationalist squad staff.

"He's defined a style, successful each way, with his relentless ambition to interruption records and the property to which helium continues to play. Just arsenic Maradona was unique, arsenic Pele was unique, arsenic [Lionel] Messi is unique, Cristiano is too, for his ain reasons.

"What I privation to item is that for Portugal, having a subordinate similar Cristiano is highly important. We are a tiny state that seldom has a planetary interaction extracurricular of football.

"He allows our tiny state to beryllium known worldwide for thing large - due to the fact that of Cristiano and each the affirmative things helium stands for."

There doesn't look to beryllium overmuch uncertainty that - arsenic agelong arsenic Euro 2016 winners Portugal suffice - helium volition beryllium astatine the 2026 World Cup. The existent question people is whether helium tin marque it to 2030, erstwhile the state volition co-host it.

"I person nary uncertainty [that helium tin bash it]. He'll spell connected different fare and beryllium there, bully and slim," erstwhile winger Nani said with a smile.

With a reported lucrative connection connected the array to renew his Al-Nassr declaration that would marque him a co-owner of the Saudi team, Ronaldo is yet to denote his decision.

Having won lone 1 portion of silverware since moving to the Middle East successful December 2022 - the Arab Champions Cup successful 2023 - the Portuguese fable volition carnivore that successful caput erstwhile it comes to immoderate decision, arsenic helium wants to beryllium capable to combat for trophies successful the last years of his career.

While it remains to beryllium seen wherever helium volition beryllium playing aft June, he's already preparing his future.

"I'm inactive precise young, I person truthful galore plans and dreams ahead, but people my words - I'll beryllium the proprietor of a large club, for sure," Ronaldo promised during the Globe Soccer Awards ceremony.

Away from the pitch, the long-running rape allegation case - ever denied by Ronaldo and dismissed by the tribunal - is present respective years down him.

He has been gathering a concern empire with ventures successful a wide scope of industries - including TV channels, hotels, hairsbreadth transplant clinics, racquet athletics padel, and underwear.

According to Expresso, a starring play Portuguese newspaper, helium has much than doubled the fig of organizations successful which helium holds a bulk stock done his company, CR7 SA, implicit the past 2 years. In total, helium has stakes successful 21 antithetic enterprises.

"As you each know, I person investments successful assorted sectors, and what I privation astir is to support moving forward," helium said.

Ronaldo, whose YouTube transmission was the fastest ever to scope 1 cardinal subscribers - helium presently has 73 cardinal - has his older member Hugo Aveiro and erstwhile Sporting team-mate Miguel Paixao among his right-hand men to negociate his businesses.

A campaigner successful the upcoming Portuguese statesmanlike elections has announced precocious that helium would similar to person Ronaldo connected his Council of State if elected, but that tin beryllium ruled out. For now, astatine least.