Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the fittest footballers to ever grace the sport. Famed for his incredible physique and strict diet routine, CR7's dedication to maintaining his fitness is one of his strongest attributes, allowing the forward to play well at the top of the game despite nearing his 40s.
The Portuguese superstar is focused and attentive to every nuance of his life away from the pitch and is well known for his clean eating habits, not to mention his snub of Euro 2020 sponsors Coca-Cola in favour of water.
The 38-year-old sticks to a strict diet and has implemented Pilates-based routines that focus on resistance work to strengthen his core. He has a personal dietician who has worked with him ever since his Real Madrid days, eating six small meals a day – or one every three to four hours.
Ronaldo's diet also allows him to have explosive muscles and a very low fat mass, whilst supporting the fast metabolism athletes have.
Here, GOAL brings you everything you need to know about Cristiano Ronaldo's eating habits, including his favourite food, restaurant and cheat meals.
What is Cristiano Ronaldo's favourite food to eat?
The 38-year-old eats a rich protein diet, with lots of wholegrain carbs, fruit and vegetables, as well as lean proteins like fish, chicken, and healthy fats such as olive oil and avocados. He abstains from artificially sugary foods, red meat, alcohol, or any aerated drinks.
The football legend has a special taste for Bacalhau à Brás. It is a classic Portuguese dish prepared with shredded salty cod or bacalhau, onions, and finely diced fried potatoes and layered in a mound of scrambled eggs.
The list of his favourite food includes fish, especially tuna, sea bass, swordfish, and sea bream. Likewise, he can't get over his love for cod fish. He eats them in their healthiest forms. Always fresh and never frozen. On his breakfast menu, Ronaldo often has salad, fruit, cheese, ham, a very low-fat yogurt and avocado toast.
He views chicken as one of the magical foods: rich in protein and low in fat content. Patrice Evra, his team-mate at Manchester United, once said of him: "I recommend anyone to say no if Cristiano invites you to his house because that boy is a machine and he never stops training.
"I went there and I was really tired after training, but on the table, there was a salad and chicken breast and only water, no drinks."
How to make Bacalhau a bras - step-by-step recipe
List of essential ingredients:
- Desalted codfish: The desalting process can be easily done at home. However, if you want to simplify the recipe, you can buy the already-desalted cod.
- Straw Potatoes: The process of making the straw potatoes at home instead of buying them ready and is quite simple and the dish is much tastier. First, cut the potatoes into very thin sticks. Next, wash the sticks in water until the excess starch is removed. Then fry in very hot oil, using a pan or fryer. Place them on paper towels to remove the excess fat and season with a little salt.
- Eggs: The eggs beaten with a fouet provide the creaminess to Bacalhau à Brás. Otherwise, the dish tends to become dry and salty.
- Olive Oil, Bay Leaves, Black Olives, Salt, Parsley (chopped), Onion, Black Pepper.
How to make:
Cook and shred the codfish
- Desalinate the salt cod by soaking it for at least 24 hours, and changing the water at least three times.
- Take a pan of water, bay leaves, and 2 cloves of garlic to boil;
- As soon as it boils, add the codfish;
- When it boils again, turn off the heat and set it aside for 15 minutes;
- Remove the cod from the water and let it cool;
- Once cooled, remove the skin and bones and shred the cod.
- Set aside in the refrigerator for up to five days or proceed to the next step.
Prepare the Bacalhau à Brás:
- Heat a frying pan over low heat in olive oil and saute the onion and 2 cloves of chopped garlic;
- Add the shredded cod and cook for a few minutes;
- Add the potatoes, mixing carefully;
- In a separate bowl, beat the eggs lightly with the help of a fouet;
- Add half of the beaten eggs to the codfish stew, mixing well;
- Season with salt and black pepper to taste and let the eggs cook whilst stirring the mixture;
- Turn off the heat and mix in the rest of the eggs;
- Transfer the eggs to a platter. Garnish with black olives and parsley. Serve it hot.
Which restaurants does Cristiano Ronaldo eat at?
Ronaldo, like many celebrities, loves to dine at various high-end luxury restaurants with his friends and family across the world that offer specific cuisines.
Just after marking his Manchester United homecoming with a fine brace against Newcastle at Old Trafford, he celebrated with a familial rendezvous at Piccolino in Hale, Manchester, with his mom Dolores Aveiro, wife Georgina Rodriguez, and son Cristiano Jr. in attendance to enjoy a reasonably priced delicious meal. The Italian restaurant is an affordably priced chain, with a Margherita pizza costing just £11.25 and set menus priced from £32.25 per person.
The 38-year-old was also once spotted in a popular Chinese restaurant Fortune City, situated on London Road, Holmes Chapel in Cheshire, which has played host to many celebrities over the years, including Harry Styles, Taylor Swift, Jordan Henderson, and Sol Campbell, among others.
During his Juventus playing days, CR7 was a regular at the Piedmontese restaurant Casa Fiore in Turin, which serves Italian and Mediterranean dishes. In Madrid, his go-to restaurant was Cafeteria Miranda, where the former Real Madrid star always went to with his family, teammates and friends.
Staying in the Spanish capital, the ultra-exclusive Filandon restaurant is another preferred dining spot for Ronaldo and his wife Georgina. Filandon is famous in the city for its coal-grilled meats and fish.
And the food doesn't come cheap, either. Starters cost between £10 and £24, with the Iberico Ham the priciest opening course on the menu. Sirloin steak tartare or red tuna tartare cost upwards of £22, while the Wagyu beef cutlet costs £110 for a minimum of two people.
Since his move to Al-Nassr, Ronaldo and his partner Rodriguez have been spotted enjoying several luxury dine-outs throughout Riyadh. The couple marked their first Valentine's Day in the Gulf with a romantic dinner at the Japanese restaurant Clap, which is famous for its signature Kyoen sushi platter and rock shrimp that draw inspiration from Tokyo.
Returning to his roots in Portugal, Restaurante Mar Do Inferno in Cascais, Lisbon is one of his favorite eateries.
Beyond being a connoisseur of exquisite dining, Ronaldo himself stepped into the world of the restaurant business a while back and invested in the fine dining eatery Tatel together with tennis icon Rafael Nadal, music star Enrique Iglesias, and former NBA champion Pau Gasol.
Ahead of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Ronaldo took almost his entire Portugal squad out for dinner at the Tatel de Doha restaurant on Al Maha Island. Tatel, which is part of Mabel Capital investment firm, hosts branches in Ibiza, Doha, and Beverly Hills, but TOTO is apparently Ronaldo's favourite when it comes to Italian cuisine, and the player has not shied away from promoting it on his social media platforms.
Located in Paseo de la Castellana, one of the most famous avenues in Madrid, TOTÓ is described as a restaurant that represents Italian cuisine at its best.
Does Cristiano Ronaldo eat cheat meals or junk food?
It's very rare that CR7 does anything bad for his body; he doesn't consume alcohol, works out for hours a day, even in his leisure time, and takes five naps a day. He is a man who is dedicated to his craft.
The five-time Ballon d'Or winner's meticulous approach extends beyond the pitch, influencing not only his own choices but also those of his teammates, who view him as a role model and try to copy his eating habits.
However, even Ronaldo has his guilty pleasures and indulges himself in junk food days occasionally, when he takes a break from his strict diet. Former Portugal teammate Jose Fonte shared insights into the more relaxed side of CR7, busting the myth that the football icon completely avoids indulging in junk food.
On such occasions, Ronaldo doesn't hold back, treating himself to delights like "steak, chips, and fried eggs" after a game.
"I've seen him eating a little bit of everything," said Fonte in an interview with talkSPORT.
"We always have a look at what he's eating and what he's doing. You know he's the best and you want to replicate what he's doing because he must be doing something right.
"Obviously as a rule he eats nice and clean, you know the nice quinoas and all this healthy stuff… A lot of eggs, sweet potatoes, the broccoli, he's into that."
Ronaldo himself has admitted in the past that pizza is his weakness and Cristiano will happily take a slice or two with his son to avoid having a "boring" life.
While speaking to YouTuber ChrisMD, here's what the five-time Ballon d'Or winner said about his favorite cheat meal (via The Sun): "The key is to take care of your body, train, do your recovery, and eat properly. Although sometimes I do eat pizza with my son, otherwise it would be boring."
That means Ronaldo allows himself to consume in one sitting a 1,335-calorie meal, with 42g of fat, 142g of carbs, 16g of sugar, and 49g of protein. A single serving is considered to be one slice, and that's about 10% of the recommended daily calorie intake for an average adult.
This revelation adds a human touch to Ronaldo's superhuman image, illustrating that maintaining a healthy lifestyle doesn't mean completely sacrificing the joys of occasional indulgence.