Cristiano Ronaldo_ The Art of Discipline.

Maybe someone doesn't like me because maybe I'm too good. I don't follow the records. The records follow me. In my mind, I'm always the best. The talent is part of me, but if you don't work the talent, you're never going to achieve the things that I achieve. So, I try to do my things, to improve myself in the training, specifically in the games, because this is the most important thing. So, I always try to improve something season by season. Our mind is a box of surprises and you have to challenge yourself to be consistent. I repeat, sometimes it's hard. It's what many people say, you like to go to the gym every day. Of course not. It's not true. Nobody likes to go to the gym every day. But you have to do it. Your mental strength is coming from that. From that moment that's in a hard moment. You know you should do it. And I do it because after that, maybe in the beginning you feel hard to start, but after when you finish the gym or cold planche or even the training, you will feel better. We all saw the huge potential that he had. And he came over and his first thought was to entertain. And we wanted to win. And we knew that with him in our team, if he had end product, we had a far better chance of being successful. We are not happy every day. We are not in a good mood every day. It's normal. It's part of us. I fight against that. It's the big challenge. It's when you're not willing to do something, but you have to do it. This is the main point. Do you think what makes you different to the others, to the next rung on the ladder if you like, the very good players, is the dedication level that you put in? I think I'm good. But I think my main strength is my mind. I think it's my strongest point. It's my mind. The numbers don't lie. If you see during the last 15 years, my level is always kind of the same. So, effort, dedication, work hard. Because the talent is not enough anymore. And if you're not dedicated 100%, you're not going to reach the level that you want. Nobody's perfect. We fail too many times. We have so many uncertainties in our life that we have to be capable, when we are down, to stand up. It's part of the journey. It's part of the process. It's part of our education. In my case, I learn the most when I'm down. And it's good that certain moments happen. Because when you are on top of the wave, you don't see what's going on. I always say to my friends, it's good to have problems. It's the only way that you can improve. The secret is dedication and hard work. To be able to work 100% all the time. If there are words, this is my secret. He's a legend. He's one of these big names that stays forever in football history. But the guy wants, he motivates himself with numbers, with new things. He wants to win the gold ball X times and the golden boot X times. And he wants to not just play these Euros. He's already thinking that he wants to play the next World Cup. Does he get angry when people say maybe Messi is better? Would that infuriate him? I don't think so. I don't think so. I just think that critics motivate him. I think he feels if people criticize me, it's because I am who I am. I did what I did and I still try to do. He gets that as an extra motivation. I think as an opponent, you should be quiet and don't say a wrong word about him. Because that would be always a motivation for him. I think he's the player that everybody knows he is. And mentally, really very, very strong. Once again, as you say, it's Cristiano Ronaldo and it's controversy once again. Why is it always the case with you? I don't know why. Maybe someone doesn't like me because maybe I'm too good. It is what it is. Life is completely difficult. We have obstacles in our lives. And I will keep running to fight against the people who don't believe me. And life is a challenge. And I want the people to know that they are wrong. I'm there every morning. I do the same stuff. I'm probably the first one to arrive and the last one to go out. It's great. This gives me motivation to still work hard and better in my job. But I have to say, to be in my shoes is not easy. But I'm not complaining. I just want to say that I feel happy. All this happened because of a reason. The reason is, I'm unbelievable inside the pitch. This is why the people have so much interest in me. Are you the best footballer in the world right now? I think so, yes. In my mind, I'm always the best. I don't care what the people think, what they say. In my mind, not just this year, but always. I'm always the best. I'm always going to say that. Because I think we have two thinkings. We are the best in our area. So in my area, I think I'm the best. Is there anything that Lionel Messi is better than you at? It's opinions. I respect the opinions. Maybe in your opinion, Messi is better than me. But in my mind, I'm better than him. It's very simple. Is that rivalry a good thing? For me, rivalry doesn't exist. The meaning of this word doesn't exist. Rivalry is in a war. This is it. We have a rivalry. Even in football, it's just a game. I think the numbers say everything. I don't need to say I'm a football legend. The numbers say everything. So I'm very comfortable. Cristiano Ronaldo, those two just keep pushing each other on. Pushing the boundaries of greatness. Exactly. That's the question I always ask myself. Would they have been able to do this and keep this up? The relentlessness that they've shown without each other. If they were out on their own, no one else around, would they continue to have done this? They probably do add to the motivation. 100%. I think all the great sportsmen in the world have always had that someone else to feed off. I think this is another great rivalry in football. They don't talk about it. It seems like there's a bit of respect between them. They don't mention each other really. They're just phenomenal to watch. People try to make comparisons of who's better, etc. Just enjoy them. How much has Lionel Messi pushed you to become a better player? I'm pushing myself. I don't need other players to push myself. I've just worked since I was in sporting. So I push myself all the time to be the best. As I say many times, in my opinion, I'm the best. Because I think we have to think like that. Not just in my job, but you have to think in your job. You are the best reporter. And I'm thinking like that. If I'm not thinking like that, I'm not going to be stronger than I think I am. But you also love individual awards. They matter to you. It's part of my sacrifice. My obsession to win. To have success. You know, when I say success, I work for that. Talent is not enough. I dedicate myself so much that this is part of me. Records is part of me. I don't follow the records. The records follow me, which is different. Are you addicted to winning? Yes, I am. I'm addicted to the success. That's the thing that really drives you? Yes, I think so. And I think it's not something bad. I think it's good. It motivates me. If something doesn't motivate you, it's better to stop. We shared the stage for 15 years. Me and him. I don't know if it's ever happened in football. The same two guys on the same stage all the time. It's not easy, as you know. And of course, we have a good relationship. We had that battle the last 15 years, which is good. He pushed me and I pushed him as well. So it's good to be part of the history of football. I'm there and of course, he's there as well. When I was at Manchester United and you think, who was that person who had a massive impact on the club while they were there? You can't look no further than Cristiano. And you talk about mindset. I don't know a stronger, more determined, obsessed player that I'd share a changing with because he was just phenomenal. Why we don't believe that we can do it better? We have to believe, we have to be positive to try to change things. Don't give up to the guys who are weak mentally. This is why I mentioned in the beginning, you here, you have to implant that in your mind that we are capable to change things. Well, my best words is dedication and hard work. To achieve these kind of things, you need to work hard. Be a great professional, be serious in your job. And this is what I try to do. There's been a great debate over the last few years with him and Messi. But I think over the last six months, he's gone on to another level. I think he's out there on his own. The way he started the World Cup, the way he finished last season. How many times can we say it about him? His improvement, his attitude. And I think a lot of it is not natural ability for Ronaldo. As brilliant as he is, I think it's just sheer hard work. Determination, desire, courage. He's got a lot of courage, wants to get in there, he's brave. I've said it before, the guy's a genius. This difference between making it because of talent and making it because of work ethic. You said to me you felt like an enormous percentage of your success has come from work ethic. And that there's sort of an unfair perception maybe of you of just being hyper-talented and that's where all the success comes from. To be honest, I think both have to work at the same time. Because talent without work is nothing. And work without talent is nothing too. So I think they both mix up. And of course I have two. I'm not to say that I have more one than the other one. Because if you see my whole career, for the last 20 years, my level was high. And this is, as you can know, it's really tough. Not only in football, but in any area. If you are top for 20 years, it's unbelievable. My biggest motivation is to carry on, to still enjoy, to make people happy, to make my family happy. So for me, I have both talent and work ethic. But the fact is, is that he has shown that it's not just ability, it is hard work. And he seems to be getting the fruits of all the hard work that he's put in down the years. And as somebody, he will not put anything that's not going to benefit him inside his body. For example, you arrive home, you had a lunch, you do a quick nap, and you wake up, you play with your kids, and I have to go to the gym at least 30-40 minutes. But this will make the difference in the end of the day, you understand? If you don't do that work, you miss one. The next day, it's two sessions that you lost. And I know in the end of the day, in the end, you're going to make a huge difference. This is why I'm 34 and I look 28. Every year is a challenge for me to be better than last year. So I know it's tough. Last year was amazing, two years ago was amazing too. So my job is to continue to work hard and dedicate myself 100% in my job and win trophies, you know, collective and individual too. He said, let's go, and having a lunch after training, go to his house, you know, it was few people on the table, I look at it, it was just some salad, plain white chicken, no juice, just water. So we have a food, quickly a lunch, and after that, he said, let's go in the garden and play two-touch. I said, Cristiano, we just finished. So we go playing two-touch, after that, let's go for a swim. After that, let's have a sauna, jacuzzi. I was like, Cristiano, why we didn't stay at the training room? So that's why I said, Cristiano deserves everything he got right now. So I'm really happy for him, and he deserves it, because he works so hard and he's a machine. Rio beat him in front of everyone, so we screamed, and Cristiano was so angry. He sent his cousin by the tennis table. After two weeks, he's back, and he beat Rio in front of all of us. So that's Cristiano Ronaldo. He doesn't want to lose any game. Discipline is the most difficult thing, not only in the sport, but in the life. I give you the map. You are willing to do that? Yeah. It's the main point, because everyone wants to be Cristiano, but I give you the map. You think you will do that?