What Cristiano Ronaldo Did At 3am After Every European Game Is Elite Mentality

Cristiano Ronaldo's determination and desire to keep on improving is almost unmatched and he quickly earned the respect of his Manchester United teammates for the lengths he went to.

According to his former teammate Phil Neville, who called him the "hardest worked" he's seen, Ronaldo would go back to the club's training base after a European game and have an ice bath at 3am to speed up his recovery.

"He (Ronaldo) used to play European games, Champions League games, then go back to the training ground and have an ice bath at 3 in the morning," Neville said on BBC 5 Live.

"And that's why Roy Keane, Paul Scholes, (David) Beckham and (Ruud) Van Nistelrooy have the utmost respect for him.

"Forget Instagram, and the social media and the image, this kid works harder than any other footballer on the planet to be the best.

"And when you see the evidence on a Saturday, it is just an accumulation of the process that he has to go through to become the best."

This is just one of many anecdotes about Ronaldo constantly striving to reach the very top. His cousin, Nuno Viveiros, revealed that Ronaldo adopted the motto 'No rest for the wicked' after winning his first Champions League in 2008.

Ronaldo scored a sensational header in the final in Moscow before Edwin van der Sar saved from Nicolas Anelka in the penalty shoot-out to crown Sir Alex Ferguson's side the champions of Europe for the third time.

But the Portuguese didn't feel the need to party. Instead, he trained after getting back to Manchester.

Image: PA

"I lived with Cristiano in Manchester for five years, an unforgettable experience," he revealed in an interview with Tuttosport.

"The night when the team won the Champions League in 2008. Do you remember the final of Moscow with Chelsea that ended on penalties? Terry slides into the right post of the goal and at the end van der Sar saves Anelka's shot.

"Do you know what Cristiano did when we got back to Manchester that night? He went to train. He went to train after becoming a champion. European Champion at the age of twenty-three, he is like that, he's a real son of Madeira."

Utterly ridiculous. Ronaldo is just obsessed with perfection, even today at the ripe old age of 33.

Topics: Football News, Football, Manchester United, Champions League, Cristiano Ronaldo

Josh Lawless

Josh is a sports journalist who specialises in football and wrestling. He has been published by Curzon Ashton FC, Late Tackle, Manchester City FC, The Mirror, Read Man City and Manchester Evening News. He provides coverage of professional wrestling and has interviewed some of the biggest names in the field - including the first UK interview with The Hardy Boyz after their return to WWE. He has never sported a pair of Lonsdale Slip-ons, contrary to reports.

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