One of football's most experienced fitness coaches has described just how deep Cristiano Ronaldo's obsession with fitness goes.
Giovanni Mauri, who has been a long-time sidekick to Carlo Ancelotti and worked with Ronaldo for two years at Real Madrid, said all young players would benefit from watching how he trains.
"Cristiano is a phenomenon and a elite level athlete," Mauri, whose last job was Bayern Munich, told 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.
"To improve football you would need to bring every young player to watch his training sessions. He does everything with a smile and not against his will unlike certain kids even in youth ranks.
"We are talking about a world class player who, when we returned home at 2a.m. 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.
"As well as living a healthy life, he has a total dedication for physical recovery."
Mauri, who worked under Ancelotti at AC Milan, Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid and Bayern but didn't follow him to Napoli -- also said Ronaldo is the most powerful athlete he has come across.
"He [Ronaldo] is a champion in his head and as a consequence his body," Mauri added. "He listens to to all the signals from his body: he is always able to decode them perfectly. He is an athlete who knows perfection.
"He is a sort of fitness coach in himself. Of the seven ballon d'Or winners -- actually eight because it's as if [Paolo] Maldini won one -- I have worked with, Cristiano Ronaldo is without doubt the most powerful."
Source: espn.co.uk