Portugal head coach Roberto Martinez has lavished big praise on Cristiano Ronaldo, stating that the Al-Nassr striker possesses a particular trait he has never witnessed in his career.
The Real Madrid and Manchester United great is arguably considered as one of the greatest players of all time due to his goalscoring prowess and unparalleled longevity. Ever since his professional debut in August 2002, he has continued to go from strength to strength.
Cristiano Ronaldo Lauded For His Mentality
During a recent interaction with former Wycombe Wanderers striker Adebayo Akinfenwa on the YouTube channel ‘Beast Mode On’, Roberto Martinez was asked to offer his honest thoughts on his national team captain. He went on to wax lyrical about the 40-year-old.
“Cristiano is a person and a player who doesn’t let what happened yesterday, whatever it was, affect what he does today. I don’t know if it’s genetic or if it’s possible to work on it, but it’s the reality. He has this incredible need to take advantage of each day to be the best he can be,” Martinez said (via The Portugal News).
The Spaniard continued, “This can be at the level of recovery, training, finishing, or whatever aspect he feels he needs to work on. He won’t let anything affect what he can improve. It doesn’t matter if he scores a hat-trick or misses three opportunities, his preparation, as soon as the final whistle blows, and will always be methodical and perfect. That’s something that gave him longevity.”
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“I always said that a football player retires when the body tells the brain, ‘Listen, I’m finished.’ With Cristiano, I learned that it’s not like that. It’s the brain that tells the body it’s time to finish. He has this ability to want to be the best, every day. I’ve never seen that hunger before,” Martinez concluded, highlighting Ronaldo’s mentality.
How Has Cristiano Ronaldo Performed For Portugal in 2025?
After failing to score a single goal at last year’s UEFA European Championship for Portugal, Cristiano Ronaldo came under a lot of scrutiny. However, he bounced back with five goals in five UEFA Nations League matches in the second half of 2024.
Since the start of 2025, Ronaldo has been in great form for his national team. He initially bagged three goals in four UEFA Nations League Finals matches before netting five in five FIFA World Cup qualifiers earlier this year.
Overall, the Al-Nassr star has scored 143 goals in 226 appearances for Portugal so far.
