“He always looked at the rest of our plates and joked” – Arthur opens up on Cristiano Ronaldo mentality at Juventus
Arthur Melo recently hailed Cristiano Ronaldo's mentality and professionalism when he played alongside the five-time Ballon d'Or winner at Juventus during the 2020-21 season.
Ronaldo has long established himself as one of the greatest players to ever grace the game. While a lot of it comes down to his natural talent, the bulk of his success has been attributed to his hard-working nature, rigorous training routine, and diet.
Arthur Melo, who has played with all three of Lionel Messi, Neymar, and Cristiano Ronaldo, shared his thoughts on the latter with Mundo Deportivo:
"As an athlete and as a person, he is spectacular. He tries to improve every day. I remember that when we met at Juventus, in the dining room, he always looked at the rest of our plates and joked about what we had to eat."
“He is very professional. We had never before seen someone with his mentality. And as a player, there are the results," he added.
Ronaldo played alongside Arthur at Juventus during the 2020-21 season. The Real Madrid legend had a successful tenure at the Old Lady, scoring 101 goals and providing 22 assists in 134 appearances. He also won five trophies there, including two Serie A titles.
The Portugal skipper is still going strong at the age of 38 in the Saudi Pro League, scoring 14 goals in 19 appearances this season. He joined Al-Nassr in January on a two-and-a-half-year deal following an unsuccessful second stint at Manchester United.
Gareth Bale makes surprising Cristiano Ronaldo claim
Former Real Madrid superstar Gareth Bale recently made a surprising claim about Cristiano Ronaldo, suggesting the Portuguese megastar could have a poor mentality if things didn't go his way.
Bale, who retired from football in January, spoke on Martin Borgmeier's YouTube channel (via GOAL):
“He was actually okay. He had his moments. For example, if we win 5-0 and he didn’t score, he comes in and throws his boots like he’s angry. It’s like your team winning in the Ryder Cup but you didn’t get a point so you are angry."
“But he was a nice guy, nothing wrong, we didn’t really have any problems. A lot of people could be scared of how he is but if you’re not then it’s fine," Bale added.
Cristiano Ronaldo formed a lethal partnership in attack with Bale and Karim Benzema so this is a surprising revelation about a different side of his mentality.
Ronaldo plied his trade for Los Blancos between 2009 and 2018 and is the club's highest scorer with 450 goals in 438 appearances. He also provided 131 assists during this time, helping Real Madrid win 15 major trophies.