The word ‘Messi’ is forbidden in the Ronaldo household, the sister of Real Madrid superstar Cristiano has revealed.
Having been locked in a decade-long battle for global supremacy with a Barcelona rival on the field, the Portuguese forward is eager to avoid talk of him away from the pitch.
Ronaldo is happy to let others discuss the respective merits of two men with 10 Ballons d’Or between them, with an age-old debate regarding who is the best seemingly set to rumble on for some time yet.
“We don’t talk about Messi inside the house,” Katia Ronaldo told L’Equipe.
“Cristiano knows that outside the door, there’s a whirlwind and he knows that, when he crosses the door from the outside to the inside he is protected. This is where he recharges all his batteries.”
The ability to strike the right balance between his professional and personal life has allowed Ronaldo to remain at the peak of his powers during a defining era for modern football.
There is no sign of him slowing down either, even at 33 years of age.
Another 43 goals have been added to his remarkable haul this season, with 15 of those helping Madrid through to another Champions League final.
He is currently tied to a contract at the Santiago Bernabeu until 2021 and his mother, Dolores Aveiro, believes her son can remain a global superpower until at least the end of that agreement.
She added in L’Equipe: “He’s very focused, in his own bubble, but he’s also very anxious. He plays the match out in his head, thinks about how things will happen.
“There are some who play until the age of 37. Cristiano is not a machine, but he will continue to play while he can, I think for three or four more years.
“Cristiano has always been a perfectionist, he’s always seeking to be the best, to do everything to win. But aside from that, he is really reserved.”
Ronaldo’s desire to be the best at everything he does is about to take him away from the football pitch once more, with it revealed that a man who already has his own clothing line is set to become a cartoon superhero. (Goal.com)
