Palmeiras star Gabriel Menino has revealed that he thought he was “going to die” after attempting to copy the diet of former Manchester United forward Cristiano Ronaldo.
The Portuguese’s strict fitness regime has regularly garnered attention - an aspect of his career that he has continued as he edges towards 40. His stunning performances late in his career have seen a number of players attempt to emulate Ronaldo.
Menino is one of those, but his request to follow Ronaldo's infamous didn't exactly spark the kind of reaction he was hoping for. Speaking with Palmeiras Cast via A Bola, the 22-year-old defender said: "I was at my weight, but I wanted to change," he said.
"I called Mirtes, 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,” he added.
"For breakfast it was more supplement, for dinner, again, grilled meat and salad, and before going to bed another supplement. That was it”.
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It quickly became apparent Menino wasn't seeing the benefits of Ronaldo's strict regime however. “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”.
“She [Mirtes] saw from above that I was not well. She asked the masseur to bring me gel and isotonic. I took advantage of the fact that Weverton was in attendance and consumed it."
While it didn't work for Menino, Ronaldo, now aged 38, continues to perform at an extremely high level following his move to Saudi outfit Al-Nassr. He has scored eight goals in his opening five league appearances for his new club.
Menino was not the only one who had doubts on Ronaldo's famed diet. The Portuguese made personal requests to the club staff at Carrington to introduce a number of his favourite foods.
Some aspects of the new menu including a traditional Portuguese stew called Bacalhau went down well with his former team-mates. Others copied him in passing on dessert. Ronaldo did not have as much success with other elements though and it was reported that the introduction of octopus was an unpopular move.
Al-Nassr’s nutritionist Jose Blesa has hailed Ronaldo’s attitude and professionalism during his brief time at the club. Speaking to Ideal, he said: "Every conversation with him [Ronaldo] is a learning curve.
“We met and talked about his diet, about how he understands the importance of this and rest for performance. He wears two rest meters: the ring and the bracelet. He is the first to arrive at training and the last to leave. Dealing with him is wonderful.
“Cristiano helps me a lot, because we can no longer teach him anything, but he creates a school around him. The rest of the players do what he does because everything he does is wonderful to improve his performance. Since he has been here, all the players have trained more intensely and followed a stricter diet."
