Cristiano Ronaldo diet that Man Utd implemented had player thinking 'I'm gonna die'

Few players come close to Cristiano Ronaldo's abilities on a pitch - and it seems few can cope with copying his strict diet too, as one who did felt like he was at death's door as a result

Posted Thursday, March 02, 2023 by Dailystar.co.uk

Cristiano Ronaldo's insane diet which Manchester United implemented left Palmeiras star Gabriel Menino thinking he was "going to die".

Ronaldo has kept himself in phenomenal shape despite now being aged 38, which is in large part thanks to his healthy eating regime. When he returned to United in 2021, he even got the club chefs to put a number of his favourite meals on the menu.

And 22-year-old Menino, who plays for his hometown club in his native Brazil, tried to copy Ronaldo from afar - which proved to be unsuccessful. He told Palmeiras Cast via A Bola: "I was at my weight, but I wanted to change.

"I called Mirtes [Stancanelli], Palmeiras' nutritionist, and asked her to make me a Cristiano Ronaldo diet. I wanted to look like Cristiano Ronaldo.

"The diet was like this: breakfast was an egg and supplement. Pre-workout was a supplement, lunch could be grilled and salad.

"For breakfast it was more supplement, for dinner, again, grilled meat and salad, and before going to bed another supplement. That was it.

Cristiano Ronaldo diet that Man Utd implemented had player thinking 'I'm gonna die'
Ronaldo has always followed a strict healthy eating regime (Image: Instagram/cristiano)

"I was warming up and couldn't take any more running. I just thought, 'I'm going to die.' Five minutes into the game, I couldn't run anymore, I would need to be substituted."

He's not the only one who wasn't a fan of Ronaldo's diet. United's players were reportedly unimpressed with some of his menu options, with the introduction of octopus said to be an unpopular move.

Some did emulate him by skipping dessert, but on the whole it didn't go down well. It's worked perfectly fine for the five-time Ballon d'Or winner, though.

Al-Nassr's nutritionist Jose Blesa has been impressed since his arrival in Saudi Arabia earlier this year. He said: "We met and talked about his diet, about how he understands the importance of this and rest for performance.

"He wears two rest metres: the ring and the bracelet. He is the first to arrive at training and the last to leave. Dealing with him is wonderful."