Tyson Fury has warned Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo that age will catch up with him after being dropped from Portugal's starting XI.
WBC champion Fury is arguably in the prime of his career at 34-years-old and he defeated Derek Chisora in a trilogy fight at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last weekend. The 'Gypsy King' has always been a fan of Manchester United, the club which superstar Ronaldo r ecently departed by mutual consent after his explosive interview with Piers Morgan.
The Portuguese forward fell out of favour with United boss Eric Ten Hag, and has now found a similar fate at the World Cup where he has been left out of Portugal's starting XI for the second consecutive time. And heavyweight star Fury has warned the 37-year-old that age will get him eventually despite his healthy lifestyle.
“If you look at Cristiano Ronaldo, he is 37 years old, he has the best doctors, the best physiotherapists, he is lived like an egg in Mr Kipling’s cake,” Fury told talkSPORT when asked about the legendary forward's recent decline. "But even Ronaldo is on the slide now, so even someone who has looked after himself like that, it catches up on you.
"So imagine a boxer who has been punched to pieces for the last 20 years. The age factor will not wait for anybody, no matter how you have lived. Whether you have never had a drink in your life, if you have never run on any hard surfaces, no matter who you are, age will get you eventually.”
Ronaldo is now a free agent at club level after his release from the Red Devils, but is expected to have no shortage of interest from the Middle East and the US. It has been a real battle for the five-time Ballon d'Or winner, who was benched for Portugal's World Cup quarter final clash with Morocco in Qatar.
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Despite his recent struggles, it is not expected that Ronaldo will hang up his boots but could face an uphill struggle to try and attract interest from European clubs in the Champions League. Fury has faced his own battle regarding retirement having announced his intentions to stop boxing before returning earlier this month.
And Fury has stated he will likely need help when deciding to finally part ways with the sport as he chases an undisputed title shot next year. Without boxing, I just felt I didn’t have any purpose in my life anymore," Fury said. “For the four months I was retired, I’ve never felt so back to 2015, 2016, 2017 ever before.
"But I was back in that moment in that time where life was very dull, very dark and there was no way back for me. I am boxing because of this (his head). And without it, (my head) is going downhill rapidly and I don’t know any other way of keeping it sane. This is me being brutally honest, speaking from the heart. I do not know how to quit.”
