For most people, 33 years old is nothing. Many of us will slog for at least another 30 years before we can retire (Ha! Like we'll ever retire) and enjoy our old age.
However, for professional footballers, 33 is the twilight of their career. The body slows down, the muscles and joints can't hold up, and the injury lay-offs become harder and harder to bounce back from.
Not if you're Cristiano Ronaldo, it turns out.
For most people, 33 years old is nothing. Many of us will slog for at least another 30 years before we can retire (Ha! Like we'll ever retire) and enjoy our old age.
However, for professional footballers, 33 is the twilight of their career. The body slows down, the muscles and joints can't hold up, and the injury lay-offs become harder and harder to bounce back from.
Not if you're Cristiano Ronaldo, it turns out.Oh, and during the recent World Cup in Russia, he recorded the fastest running speed of anyone at the tournament. So much for older players 'losing that yard of pace'.
Cristiano Ronaldo's physical state has been compared to a 20 year old after his Juve medical.
— Matteo Bonetti (@TheCalcioGuy) July 23, 2018
Body fat: 7% (10-11% is avg w/pros)
Muscular mass: 50% (46% is avg w/pros)
Ran 33.98km in World Cup, fastest in the entire tournament
It's not just the Juventus medical team trying to beef his stats up, either. Real Madrid last year compared his physical state to that of a 23-year-old.
There's also something called the 'Athletic Performance Index' that measures - well - how athletes perform, stupid.
If you look at a graph, it tends to get lower the older players get. No so with CR7, of course.
He had the highest score on the Athletic Performance Index out of anyone at the World Cup. Bloody hell, the guy is impressive.
Obviously, there is more to football than simply being the most athletic person on the pitch. Just look at greats of the game like Maradona, George Best, or Paddy McCourt.
That being said, there is no doubt that Cristiano can still hang with the big boys in terms of technique, too.
Hell, Juventus basically signed him off the back of that frankly absurd goal that he scored in the Champion's League against them last season. Erm, ok, that and his astonishing ability and storied career, of course. And probably something to do with shirt sales.
There is a bit of uncertainty about whether he will be a success in Italy at the moment, but one thing is certain - Cristiano isn't ready to collect his gold clock and retire just yet.
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