Every once in a while, Cristiano Ronaldo would drop a message to Portugal national team doctor Jose Carlos Noronha.
“Hey doc, any chance you could recommend a scientific article to read?” Ronaldo used to ask.
The Madeira-born superstar has already admitted “enjoying studying” and “being fascinated by the longevity field,” so that didn’t really come as a surprise to Noronha, who has known the forward since his first Manchester United spell.
The doctor, who is so highly rated back home that Jose Mourinho called him “The Very Special one”, once described Ronaldo as “very inquisitive”.
“He would ask me if there are any new scientific articles he could read about nutrition or other related topics,” Noronha said. “He’s someone who does everything required to maintain the highest levels of physical and mental fitness. He’s a true example.”
As he celebrates his birthday on Wednesday, Ronaldo is determined to prove that life begins at 40.
He still doesn’t lack any confidence either.
“I think I’m the most complete player to have existed,” he said on Spanish TV on Monday. “In my opinion, I think it’s me. I do everything well in football.
“One thing is taste – if you like Messi, Pele, Maradona, I understand that and I respect that – but saying Ronaldo isn’t complete… I’m the most complete. I haven’t seen anybody better than me, and I say it from the heart.”
He has not always been this obsessed with the idea of defying time to prolong his career for as long as he can.
His former team-mate Costinha recalls a chat they had when the number seven made his international debut for Portugal in a friendly versus Kazakhstan back in 2003.
“He told me, ‘Costa, I’m going to play until the age of 30 and then I’ll do something different.'”
Not only did he not fulfil that promise, but he actually went on to impressively score more goals in his 30s – 460 – than he managed in his 20s – 440.
That’s absolutely not normal, but then there has never been anything normal about Ronaldo.
The Al-Nassr man will now be hoping to push his limits even further as he enters his 40s and shows no sign of retiring any time soon.
Despite growing criticism from fans, and facing his own mortality in the game for perhaps the first time, in his mind, he’s still got plenty to achieve.
Among the things that still make him tick are:
playing in the 2026 World Cup - and returning home with the trophy, having recently said he would like to "win something else with the national team";
netting 1,000 career goals - he currently has 923;
reaching 250 Portugal caps - he has 217;
and sharing the pitch with his son Cristiano Ronaldo Jr, who is 14 and plays for Al-Nassr's youth teams.When it comes to Ronaldo, his compatriots have learned that, as he usually says, “there are no impossibilities”.
“Ronaldo does things, but he does them knowing all the whys, and that’s what impresses me. I’m convinced he’ll continue for another one, two, or even three years,” said his former Al-Nassr coach Luis Castro.