Former Real Madrid medical chief picks Gareth Bale over Cristiano Ronaldo as club's best athlete
In an interview with Ideal de Granada, former Real Madrid medical chief Jesus Olmo reflected on his time at the club. He provided a unique insight into the training methods of Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale, and Sergio Ramos.
Olmo, who was at Real Madrid till 2017, revealed that he revolutionised the approach to fitness at Real Madrid and elevated the abilities of the club's impressive athletes.
Olmo made some interesting revelations as he compared the fitness of several Real Madrid stars, including Cristiano Ronaldo, Sergio Ramos, and Gareth Bale.
The Spaniard was the chief of medical services at Real Madrid, and was able to access the medical records of Real Madrid's superstars as well as the young talent emerging through the club's ranks.
"In four seasons we won three Champions Leagues. The performance of the entire squad was fantastic. Lucas Vázquez, Marco Asensio, Álvaro Morata or James Rodríguez, who were on the bench, performed at the same level as the starters."
Real Madrid's former club doctor describes fitness regimes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale
Jesus Olmo revealed in the interview that he had the rare privilege of working with Cristiano Ronaldo, Sergio Ramos, and some of the biggest names in the football world at Real Madrid.
The Real Madrid medic singled out Cristiano Ronaldo for praise and said that the Portuguese superstar's fitness levels can be credited to the immense respect he has for the medical professionals. Cristiano Ronaldo's fitness improved by leaps and bounds during his time at Real Madrid.
"I admire him very much as an athlete, he is a great worker, strict with everyone but with himself first. Cristiano Ronaldo has an extraordinary respect for the professionals who work with him."
Cristiano Ronaldo is known to work very hard on his fitness and often goes the extra mile to ensure that his physical abilities are a few notches above other athletes in the sport. The 35-year-old forward is one of the fittest football players in the history of the sport.
Jesus Olmo joined Real Madrid in 2013, and his time at the club overlapped with the likes of Gareth Bale and Sergio Ramos. Olmo went on to choose Real Madrid's controversial player Gareth Bale over Cristiano Ronaldo as the most incredible natural athlete he came across at the club.
"The best athlete I saw is Gareth Bale. He is a natural athlete capable of practically being good at any sport. He has unusual genetics and athletic abilities."
The former chief of Real Madrid's medical staff also went into explicit detail on the fitness of the club's superstars and compared their physical traits to those of Olympic athletes. According to the former club doctor, Cristiano Ronaldo and Sergio Ramos were incredible athletes and displayed Olympic levels of fitness.
"The levels of physical performance of footballers is very far from that of other athletes from other Olympic disciplines, although currently there are some at Real Madrid who are beginning to get closer, such as the cases of Sergio Ramos, Lucas Vázquez or Cristiano Ronaldo."
Real Madrid are currently 2 points behind Barcelona in the LaLiga table. The side has not had the best of seasons in front of goal and is feeling the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo. Karim Benzema has done his best to fill the gaping hole left by the Portuguese superstar, but the sheer presence of Cristiano Ronaldo in Real Madrid's lineup will be difficult to replace.
In Italy, Cristiano Ronaldo is gearing up for the impending Serie A restart and has an imposing task ahead of him. Juventus are only a solitary point ahead of Lazio and will need the services of an in-form Cristiano Ronaldo to lift the Serie A title.