Michael Jordan is undoubtedly one of the most successful athletes of all time. He has certainly proved that he has what it takes to perform at the highest level, which should be obvious from the 6 NBA championship rings he has to his name. To achieve that level, His Airness had to put in the work every day of the week. This was one of his qualities that earned him and inspired millions of fans, and it looks like a soccer icon was one of them too.
Cristiano Ronaldo has always been the hardest worker. Even after winning numerous trophies at the highest level, Ronaldo’s hunger still remains the same. It looks like he has been this way since the start, as revealed by one of his former teammates.
During an interview with PrensaFutbol, Rodrigo Tello said, “We played table football, he was the best, we played pool, he was the best, we were lifting weights and he was the one who did the most. He reminds me of [Michael] Jordan, he’s competitive in everything.” Tello and Ronaldo shared the soccer field when he was at Sporting CP, as just a teenager.
Did Michael Jordan inspire Cristiano Ronaldo?
There is no question that Jordan has a massive influence on today’s top athletes. And it might be the case that he did the same for Ronaldo as well. The former Chicago Bulls star always had his eyes set on improving constantly. This can be concluded from his infamous quote in his ‘The Last Dance’ documentary, “Nobody will ever work as hard as I work.”
Rodrigo Tello:
“Ronaldo reminded me of Michael Jordan, a competitive person in everything.” 🐐 pic.twitter.com/t17ibYshsb
— GOAL (@goal) June 9, 2020
Ronaldo, now 38, plays is a player of Al-Nassr, in the Saudi Pro League. It certainly was not where he would have expected himself to play, but it would be safe for us to claim that he did his thing at the top for almost two decades. His move to Al-Nassr reminds us of MJ’s decision to join the Washington Wizards. When he moved to DC, Jordan was also 38 years old.
He did not have as successful of a stint with the Wizards, during which he averaged 21.2 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 4.4 assists in 142 games, across two NBA seasons. However, it was toward the end of his career, after he won everything there was to be won. Ronaldo’s career has somewhat been the same too, where he has won every trophy possible, except the World Cup.
Ronaldo could have been inspired by MJ. When the Portuguese striker was a youngster, Jordan was at the peak of his game, winning title after title. Whatever the case, Ronaldo and MJ are two sporting greats that the entire world admires. It is no doubt that they will go down as two of the most influential athletes of all time.