Cristiano Ronaldo names the sport he chooses to watch instead of football
Football
By
Mirror
| Dec 15, 2020
Soccer Football - Serie A - Genoa v Juventus - Stadio Comunale Luigi Ferraris, Genoa, Italy - December 13, 2020, Juventus' Cristiano Ronaldo reacts. [Reuters, Jennifer Lorenzini]
Juventus superstar Cristiano Ronaldo has revealed his favourite sports to watch, admitting that he prefers not to watch football.
The Portugal forward is widely regarded as one of the best to ever grace the pitch.
However, it seems that Ronaldo is more inclined to playing the game, rather than watching.
Instead, the 35-year-old says he enjoys combat sports, having met a host of boxing and UFC stars like Conor McGregor to Anthony Joshua.
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During the DAZN documentary titled 'Parallel Worlds’, he told boxing star Gennady Golovkin: "Playing football is my passion, but I prefer watching other sports on TV.”
Soccer Football - International Friendly - Portugal v Andorra - Estadio da Luz, Lisbon, Portugal - November 11, 2020, Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo in action with Andorra's Albert Alavedra [Reuters, Rafael Marchante]
"Between watching a football match or a boxing or UFC fight, I choose boxing or UFC."
"When I was at Manchester United, a coach boxed with me.
"I think practicing boxing is useful for football because it sharpens your senses and you learn to move."
Ronaldo will turn 36 in February, but he doesn’t appear to be showing any signs of declining, having netted 10 Serie A goals in seven appearances this season.
And the five-time Ballon d’Or winner insists he isn’t in a rush to hang his boots up but is prepared to adapt his game like tennis’s Roger Federer.
"Last summer, I had a chat with Anthony Joshua," Ronaldo went on.
"At 33 you start to think your legs are going. I want to stay in sport, football. People will look at me and say: 'Cristiano was an incredible player but now he's slow'. I don't want that.
"You can change a lot about your body, but the problem isn't that. It depends on your mindset, your motivation and your experience, which I think is the most complex thing.
"In sport, you can gain maturity. Look at [Roger] Federer in tennis; he's 37 or 38 years old and he's still at his peak, and there are some in boxing too."