I Respect Ronaldo’s Mentality – Emmanuel Adebayor

Cristiano Ronaldo is still in the elite at almost 40 years of age, Emmanuel Adebayor has said. He recently had his say while speaking to the press, and fans have been reacting.

According to him, the Al-Nassr superstar is simply beautiful to watch, and he is definitely a great example for every aspiring footballer across the globe.

Adebayor added that having the opportunity to play alongside Ronaldo, even if it was for only for six months, made him respect his mentality.

His words, “Okay, this is my first session, so I’ll go at 8:30 or so and I’ll be about two hours early. I arrived at 8:45. All the lights were off, the room was dark, so I was happy, ‘thank God, I’m the first one to arrive here, they will see that I am a professional, they will say that I am diligent’. But then I heard something, a noise in the background. I was like, what’s going on? It was my first training session and I didn’t know the facilities yet. I asked one of the physiotherapists what was going on downstairs. And he told me that Cristiano Ronaldo was there. I was like, ‘Oh, come on, man, this guy’… In the end I was second.

I went to see him and he said: ‘Oh, Emmanuel, nice to meet you, how are you?’. He also told me that he would be with me, that he would help me and that I should tell him if I needed anything. I realised that he was there much earlier. I asked him what time he would arrive and he replied that at 7:30. I said: ‘Okay, thanks, good luck, I’ll see you later, bye’.

Training started at 10:30 and you arrive at 7:30. To do what? Three or four hours early! I told myself to leave him in his own world, so that he could enjoy football and his career. And today he is 40 years old, still in the elite, playing football, at the top… It is simply beautiful to watch. A great example.

For me, having the opportunity to play with him, even if it’s only for six months… And he knows the respect I have for his mentality, for the person, for the character he has. He always wanted to be the best. And for me, that’s incredible.”

WOW.

Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro GOIH ComM is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward for and captains both Saudi Pro League club, Al Nassr and the Portugal national team.

Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro was born on 5 February 1985 in the São Pedro parish of Funchal, the capital of the Portuguese island of Madeira, and grew up in the nearby parish of Santo António. He is the fourth and youngest child of Maria Dolores dos Santos Viveiros da Aveiro, who worked as a cook in the hospitality industry and a cleaning woman, and José Dinis Aveiro, a municipal gardener at the Junta de Freguesia of Santo António and part-time kit man for football club Andorinha.

Ronaldo’s move to Manchester United was completed on 12 August 2003, too late for the 2003 FA Community Shield but in time for their game against Bolton Wanderers on the opening day of the 2003–04 season, and made him the first Portuguese player to sign for the club.

Ahead of the 2009–10 season, Ronaldo joined Real Madrid for a world record transfer fee at the time of £80 million (€94 million). His contract, which ran until 2015, was worth €11 million per year and contained a €1 billion buy-out clause.