Cristiano Ronaldo’s Former Teammate Lauds CR7’s Work Ethic and Generosity Despite Prior Snub for Eden Hazard

From Cristiano Ronaldo‘s social media activity, it is quite evident that the gym is his favorite hangout spot. He showcases his vigorous workout sessions with Georgina and Cristiano Jr. Thanks to this undaunted focus on fitness, Ronaldo is the epitome of longevity and a synonym of athleticism. Notably, the 39-year-old became last year’s top goal scorer with 54 goals. Recently, an ex-teammate detailed how CR7 stood out from other players with his hard work and focus on training. Besides, he also revealed how the Portuguese talisman humbly granted him a favor.

Dejan Kulusevski, who is now a vital attacking force in the Tottenham Hotspur roster, had the honor of being teammates with Cristiano Ronaldo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Kulusevski was awestruck to see how hard Ronaldo worked, despite not having anything left to prove.

The Swede learned an inspirational lesson from the ‘legend’ Cristiano Ronaldo ‘wanting’ success

Before joining Tottenham, Dejan Kulusevski broke through as a winger for Italian side, Juventus. Before his Juventus stint, the 23-year-old also made it to Sweden’s National Team. In Juve, he played alongside Cristiano Ronaldo for a year. Meanwhile, in Sweden, he shared the stage with Zlatan Ibrahimovic. “My period at Juventus was a chance to learn from legends,” Kulusevski wrote in his column in The Players Tribune. “Cristiano? What a guy, man. After training everyone would be on their phones, tap, tap tap, but not him. You could see how hard he worked, how much he wanted it, even though he had nothing left to prove,” the Tottenham star continued.

Thereafter, he said, ” I have never been the type to ask teammates for favors, but I asked Cristiano to sign his shirt, and I gave it to my mother,” detailing the Al Nassr star’s generosity. Furthermore, the 23-year-old shockingly revealed that Ibrahimovic trained for seven hours a day. Even though Kulusevski is a huge fan of Ronaldo’s work ethic, he once famously rated Chelsea legend Eden Hazard over him.

When Kulusevski rated Eden Hazard above Ronaldo

Amid Kulusevski’s EPL stint, in a prior interview with TNT Sports, he was asked to pick the league’s all-time Top 5 wingers. Since Cristiano Ronaldo had a storied stint at Manchester United as a left winger, quite a few expected the Swede to pick him as the best EPL winger. However, the Spurs star chose Eden Hazard as the greatest winger.

READ MORE: Years After Top 8 Snub, Cristiano Ronaldo Again Dumped by Ronaldo Nazario for Lionel Messi

“Eden Hazard. He’s been my favorite player since I was young, and he made me happy. Hazard made everybody happy by watching him play because it was just joy, it was just freedom, just like a child playing football, dribbling, scoring, assisting, and having fun. That’s what football is about of course,” the Swede said. He picked Ronaldo as 2nd-best while dishing out such high praise on the Belgian.

What do you think of Kulusevski’s different takes on Ronaldo? Tell us in the comments.

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