Genius Reason Behind Cristiano Ronaldo's Bizarre Water Rinsing Ritual

Cristiano Ronaldo's unique water drinking ritual has been explained and a scientific reason has been given for it.

The 40-year-old has five Ballon d'Or crowns to his name after a glittering career which has seen him play for Sporting Lisbon, Manchester United in two spells, Real Madrid, Juventus and now Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia.

Ronaldo moved to United from Sporting in 2003 for just over £12m and he went on to win three Premier League titles and the Champions League at Old Trafford.

In 2009, United accepted a then world record £80m from Real Madrid for Ronaldo's services and the Portuguese star moved to the Santiago Bernabeu.

Over the course of the next decade, Ronaldo won four more Champions League titles and two La Liga crowns as he also became the club's all-time top scorer.

In 2018, Ronaldo moved to Italy to sign for Juventus for an initial €100m transfer fee.

He won two Serie A crowns with Juve before he completed a return to Old Trafford in 2021.

His second spell at United, however, did not go anywhere near as well as his first stint and he departed towards the end of 2022 when his contract was terminated following an interview Ronaldo did with Piers Morgan where he criticised several aspects of the club.

He now plays for Al Nassr in the Saudi Pro League for the tail end of his club career.

For Portugal, Ronaldo is his country's record cap holder and top scorer with 161 goals in 260 appearances for his nation, with whom he won the Euro 2016 title and two Nations League crowns.

Ronaldo's professionalism is renowned and his committed approach to how he lives his life off the pitch to perform on it and his longevity in the game is well known.

And an insight into one aspect of this, which might look strange, has now been explained and helps illustrate Ronaldo's approach.

During games, Ronaldo and other players don't drink water, and rather they just wet their mouths before spitting it out.

There is a very good reason for this, as it turns out, due to using a 'carbohydrate mouth rinse' to activate mouth receptors, reduce fatigue and give the feeling of energy without swallowing the water.

A post by Instagram account 45performancepro reads: "Have you ever noticed that Cristiano Ronaldo and other athletes don’t drink water during the game?

"They just wet their mouths and spit it out. There’s a scientific explanation for that.

"They use ‘carbohydrate mouth rinse’: a rinse with carbohydrates that activates receptors in the mouth and “tricks” the brain, reducing fatigue and giving a feeling of energy—without needing to swallow.

"Why? Drinking during intense exercise can cause stomach discomfort. Therefore, heavy hydration happens before the game and during breaks, not in the middle of the action."