Topics: Brazil, Cristiano Ronaldo, Ronaldo, Al Nassr, Football
Palmeiras midfielder Gabriel Menino has detailed the impact of Cristiano Ronaldo's diet on his game, claiming he thought he was "going to die" after trying it.
The 22-year-old Brazilian midfielder was keen to change his daily routine in a bid to improve his on-field performances, so he asked Palmeiras nutritionist Mirtes Stancanelli to switch up his diet.
In fact, Menino asked if she could create a diet similar to Cristiano Ronaldo because "he wanted to look like" the five-time Ballon d'Or winner.
Ronaldo, who is very particular about what he eats and how he maintains his physique, is believed to prefer a high-protein diet, with a minimal amount of sugars, fats and carbohydrates.
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The 38-year-old eats up to six meals a day and avoids all carbonated drinks as well as alcohol.
And to improve his conditioning, Menino decided to follow in Ronaldo's footsteps but things didn't exactly go to plan for the Palmerias man, who opened up about his experience on the Palmeiras Cast podcast.
"I was at my weight, but I wanted to change," he said. "I called Mirtes, Palmeiras' nutritionist, and asked her to make me a Cristiano Ronaldo diet. I wanted to look like Cristiano Ronaldo."
He added: "The diet was like this. Breakfast was an egg and supplement. Pre-workout was a supplement, lunch could be grilled and salad.
"For breakfast it was more supplement, for dinner, again, grilled meat and salad, and before going to bed another supplement. That was it”.
Menino started the diet ahead of this season's clash against America-MG but he soon realised that the diet would have a negative impact on his game.
“I was warming up and couldn't take any more running," he said. "I just thought, 'I'm going to die.' Five minutes into the game, I couldn't run anymore, I would need to be substituted”.
The Brazilian was taken off after Palmeiras nutritionist Mirtes picked up on his poor condition.
“She saw from above that I was not well," Menino remembers. "She asked the masseur to bring me gel and isotonic. I took advantage of the fact that Weverton was in attendance and consumed it”.
Ronaldo, meanwhile, continues to follow a strict diet. In fact, Portugal's all-time top scorer has forced his Al Nassr teammates into improving their eating habits, according to Jose Blesa; the club's nutritionist.
"I was uncertain, like everyone else, about what it was going to be like to work with him and if the club was going to change a lot, but I haven't found a more professional footballer than him," Blesa told Ideal.
"Every conversation with him is a learning curve. We met and talked about his diet, about how he understands the importance of this and rest for performance. He wears two rest meters: the ring and the bracelet. He is the first to arrive at training and the last to leave. Dealing with him is wonderful.
“Cristiano helps me a lot, because we can no longer teach him anything, but he creates a school around him. The rest of the players do what he does because everything he does is wonderful to improve his performance. Since he has been here, all the players have trained more intensely and followed a stricter diet.
"I have not seen a club like this in which the players improve practically 90% in their body composition every time I see them: they have less fat, more muscle and they do all the exercises at their fingertips. It is a luxury to work there.”
