Cristiano Ronaldo used to eat McDonald’s leftovers when he was a young footballer at Sporting CP, according to a former teammate.
Ronaldo and Fabio Paim, another Sporting trainee, used to go to the fast food chain at the end of each evening and collect unsold burgers, a shocking illustration of how poor the five-time Ballon d’Or winner was when he was growing up.
“When we played Sporting and we lived in the academy, we lived in the stadium. In the evening, we went to McDonald’s to collect the hamburgers that no one wanted anymore and which were therefore not good for sale.Paim told Sun. “We were there every night for the burgers. »
While Ronaldo became one of the best players in the world and earns £177 million a year with Al-Nassr, Paim wasted his talent and had a lackluster career, retiring in 2021 in Poland.
“ We could have fun being kids. But I always remember Ronaldo as a hard worker, truly committed and someone who wanted to be the best”, added Paim. “ He was always like that, upset when he lost. It was this effort that brought him to where he is today. Even today he doesn’t need to play, but he wants to be the best. He’s earned everything he could, there’s nothing left. But it’s the result of the effort we put in as children.
After scoring four goals to help Portugal qualify for Euro 2024, Ronaldo returns to action with Al-Nassr against Damac on Saturday in the Saudi Pro League.
