Khabib Nurmagomedov Sends Out Important Advice To Cristiano Ronaldo Over His Career

Khabib Nurmagomedov believes that Juventus superstar Cristiano Ronaldo should leave football at the top level rather than prolong his playing career.

The 31-year-old undefeated UFC star has become a close friend of Ronaldo and even met his son Cristiano Jr in 2018.

UFC lightweight champ Khabib was in attendance for a media event in Russia for MMA promotion Global Fighting Championship.

And an audience member asked the 'Eagle' about Ronaldo's desire not to hang up his boots and what advice he would offer to the 34-year-old Portuguese star.

"Well, you know, it's hard to leave something you've done your whole life," he said.

"But it doesn't matter whether you want to [retire] or not, the time will come when, if you don't leave the sport, the sport will leave you...

"If you don't leave at the right time, you'll be left behind as there'll be new champions, younger, hungrier, more motivated guys.

"You won't [have the] same motivation and hunger you've had at the beginning of your career towards its end.

"Nobody will be around forever, so it's important to leave at the right time.

"How old is he? 34? At 35, he won't have the same conditioning and reaction time.

"It doesn't matter if it's Cristiano or Khabib, people will come and take your place.

"My advice to him, and to me as well, is to leave at the right time.

"I haven't taken advice from him about [training and fitness] because right now I feel good, and when I start to fall behind in some areas, I'll probably consult him.

"But for now, he's performing, I'm performing and we have no problems."

Ronaldo will turn 35 in February and has even hinted that he could call it time on his illustrious playing career soon.

The ex-Manchester United and Real Madrid star said in August that he could retire from football next year, but he also suggested that he could play "up to 40 or 41."

When SPORTbible caught up with Ronaldo this year, the five-time Ballon d'Or winner revealed that he wants to continue building his business empire post-football.

Khabib, who is scheduled to face Tony Ferguson on 18th April 2020 at UFC 249, has also opened up about his potential plans to retire from MMA.

Featured Image Credit: PA/Instagram

Topics: Khabib Nurmagomedov, Football News, Football, Serie A, Juve, Juventus, UFC, eagle, MMA, Cristiano Ronaldo

Adnan Riaz

Adnan Riaz is a journalist for SPORTbible. He studied for a B.A. in History at the University of York and followed it up with an M.A. in Multimedia Journalism at MMU. Before he started writing about sports, he spent over four years in the gaming press. He has worked for several publications, including Hardcore Gamer, LADbible and the Manchester Evening News. Follow him on Twitter to find out what he is working on next. Got a story tip for Adnan? Email him: [email protected]

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