'Football dreams & a business empire' - Ronaldo's relentless drive at 40

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.

'He allows our small country to be known worldwide'

It would have been impossible to predict Ronaldo would accomplish everything he has, but the mentality was there from the very beginning.

"I remember us being ready to step on to the pitch to face Manchester United [in the 2003 friendly at Alvalade], with both teams lined up side by side - United with big names like [Ryan] Giggs, Paul Scholes, and [Ruud] Van Nistelrooy," Joao Aroso, who was Sporting fitness coach back then, told BBC Sport.

"And you'd expect Cristiano, an 18-year-old at the time, to look at them, at such famous players. But I remember looking at Cristiano and seeing him completely focused on the game, not distracted at all - he didn't even glance at them.

"That says a lot about his personality."

Ronaldo would go from there to United, then to Real Madrid and finally to Juventus, winning five Ballons d'Or and becoming arguably Portugal's greatest-ever player along the way.

Former Manchester United performance coach Mick Clegg, told BBC Radio 5 Live's Football Daily: "I have looked at loads of great people since working with Ronaldo and I think Cristiano Ronaldo is in the league of Leonardo da Vinci, Albert Einstein, Isaac Newton, Nikola Tesler and Stephen Hawking. And what are they? They are all geniuses and he is a genius.

"In the first session in the gym when he came to United he said 'I am going to be the best player in the world', and it was quite startling. He is unique.

"His plan was to get every bit of information out of those who were going to coach him and challenge them. His whole mind is about creating something great.

"Cristiano is only made of blood and bone. Is it possible there are more people like him? I just hoped someone would come along with anything like he has but they are so remote."

Ronaldo has been involved in more than 30% of the matches ever played by the national team. But more importantly, he's changed the perception around a team that had always been known for an inferiority complex that held them back in the past.

"Cristiano is one of a kind," said Aroso, who also worked with the forward as a Portugal assistant coach and is currently part of the South Korea national team staff.

"He's defined a style, in every way, with his relentless ambition to break records and the age to which he continues to play. Just as Maradona was unique, as Pele was unique, as [Lionel] Messi is unique, Cristiano is too, for his own reasons.

"What I want to highlight is that for Portugal, having a player like Cristiano is extremely important. We are a small country that rarely has a global impact outside of football.

"He allows our small country to be known worldwide for something great - because of Cristiano and all the positive things he stands for."

There doesn't seem to be much doubt that - as long as Euro 2016 winners Portugal qualify - he will be at the 2026 World Cup. The real question mark is whether he can make it to 2030, when the country will co-host it.

"I have no doubt [that he can do it]. He'll go on another diet and be there, nice and slim," former winger Nani said with a smile.

Building a business empire

With a reported lucrative offer on the table to renew his Al-Nassr contract that would make him a co-owner of the Saudi team, Ronaldo is yet to announce his decision.

Having won only one piece of silverware since moving to the Middle East in December 2022 - the Arab Champions Cup in 2023 - the Portuguese legend will bear that in mind when it comes to any decision, as he wants to be able to fight for trophies in the final years of his career.

While it remains to be seen where he will be playing after June, he's already preparing his future.

"I'm still very young, I have so many plans and dreams ahead, but mark my words - I'll be the owner of a big club, for sure," Ronaldo promised during the Globe Soccer Awards ceremony.

Away from the pitch, the long-running rape allegation case - always denied by Ronaldo and dismissed by the court - is now several years behind him.

He has been building a business empire with ventures in a wide range of industries - including TV channels, hotels, hair transplant clinics, racquet sport padel, and underwear.

According to Expresso, a leading weekly Portuguese newspaper, he has more than doubled the number of organizations in which he holds a majority share through his company, CR7 SA, over the last two years. In total, he has stakes in 21 different enterprises.

"As you all know, I have investments in various sectors, and what I want most is to keep moving forward," he said.

Ronaldo, whose YouTube channel was the fastest ever to reach one million subscribers - he currently has 73 million - has his older brother Hugo Aveiro and former Sporting team-mate Miguel Paixao among his right-hand men to manage his businesses.

A candidate in the upcoming Portuguese presidential elections has announced recently that he would like to have Ronaldo on his Council of State if elected, but that can be ruled out. For now, at least.