GARY NEVILLE has revealed Cristiano Ronaldo “changed overnight” following the 2006 World Cup, going from “scrawny to middleweight boxer”.
The Portuguese star, now 35, was still finding his feet at Old Trafford, aged just 21 during the tournament in Germany.
Ronaldo came back from the 2006 World Cup a changed man, says Neville
But after helping dump England out at the quarter-final stage, Ronaldo returned to Manchester an absolute beast, according to Neville.
Neville, who played alongside Ronaldo for six years at Man Utd, claimed everything changed during the summer of 2006.
Speaking on Sky Sports’ The Football Show, Neville said: “In that 2006-07 season, he was breathtaking. He had fire in his belly, hunger.
“It went from wanting to give up on him in those first few years to when it started to happen after the 2006 World Cup.
“When you look at the season it was when all the negative aspects of his game just disappeared.
“When a player starts getting 30 goals and 15 or 20 assists you can put up with anything from them.
“It was match after match after match and in a two-year period I’ve never seen anything like it on a pitch at Old Trafford.
“It’s very rare you can say you’ve had the best player in the world bar none and I think we did that season.
“Sir Alex [Ferguson] and Carlos Queiroz both championed him and believed in him.
“He came back from the 2006 World Cup and his maturity had changed. His appearance and physical attributes completely changed overnight.
“He was scrawny, wiry and not very strong and then all of a sudden he was a supper middleweight boxer.
“He was incredible from a strength point of view and the ability to leap, change direction, everything fell into place.
“From that moment on you knew he was going to be really special.”
How Cristiano Ronaldo perfected his body over the years
Neville went on to reveal the quest for personal accolades spurred Ronaldo on to be the best he could be, adding: “He was incredibly driven.
“I knew him more professionally than personally but his drive was out of this world.
“He was one of the few players that would announce that individual trophies were important to him.
“Most would say the team is more important but he would say, ‘I want to be the best player in the world because in turn it would help my team’.
“He wanted to be the very, very best in the world and what he’s done over many years is exceptional.
“It’s an obsession with scoring goals, applying himself every day, being the fittest he could be.
“He’s lifted his standards every year. I’ve got no doubt he will want to continue playing and overtake Pele’s numbers.
“He wants to be the greatest of all time and understanding along the way that the teams he plays in will be successful.”
Ronaldo is world-famous for his work-ethic, regularly sharing his workout secrets on social media.
And it has been no different while on lockdown either, with the Juventus star hard at work.
Ronaldo also believes in the power of swordfish, magic chicken and five naps per day to get into tip-top shape.
Cristiano Ronaldo uses his KIDS as weights while doing sit-ups as Georgina calls them ‘the best
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
