Cristiano Ronaldo Trained Back In Manchester After Winning The 2008 Champions League Final

There are so many stories highlighting Cristiano Ronaldo's drive and determination to be the best and this one, shortly after winning the Champions League with Manchester United, is perhaps the best.

Ronaldo won his first ever Champions League in 2008 on penalties in Moscow, with Edwin van der Sar the hero against Chelsea when he saved from Nicolas Anelka to crown Sir Alex Ferguson's side the champions of Europe for the third time.

Ronaldo scored a towering header to open the scoring but missed his spot-kick in the shoot-out victory and thought he had cost his team but John Terry slipped and well, the rest is history.

And according to his cousin Nuno Viveiros, even though the Sporting CP youth product was overjoyed at becoming a European champion, he didn't feel the need to party.

Instead, he trained after getting back to Manchester.

"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.

So much so, Ronaldo's ex-fitness coach Giovanni Mauri says he partakes in 2 a.m gym sessions after a long away day in the Champions League.

"Cristiano is a phenomenon and an elite level athlete," Mauri explained to Tuttosport.

"He always trains to the best possible level because his way of working is comprised of three things: dedication, competitiveness and a positive attitude.

"We are talking about a world class player who, when we returned home at 2am from a Champions League away match, would not jet off home in his car.

"No, he would stop at the training centre for at least an hour for various recovery exercises and cryotherapy."

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

Jack Kenmare

Jack Kenmare is a writer at SPORTbible. He's interviewed some of the biggest names in sport, including Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Pele, Carles Puyol and Tim Henman. He dabbles in all things sport but football is his biggest passion. He was once hit in the head by a wayward strike from Nicky Butt and lived to tell the tale.

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