Aaron Ramsey joined Juventus in the summer after 11 years at Arsenal (Picture: Getty)

Aaron Ramsey was well aware of Cristiano Ronaldo’s dedication and professionalism before his move to Juventus but training alongside his new teammate every day has given him an extra level of appreciation.

The Wales international spent 11 years at Arsenal but bit the north London club an emotional farewell last summer after his contract had expired and was snapped up on a free transfer by the Italian champions.

Ramsey has impressed only fleetingly under Maurizio Sarri as he continues to acclimatise to a new country and style of football but admits he has been inspired the the exploits of 35-year-old Ronaldo whose goalscoring prowess shows no signs of diminishing.



He said: ‘Ronaldo scores most games. He’s an exceptional athlete. He’s first in the gym, he goes through his whole routine first and then he’s out on to the pitches.


‘He’s a winner, wants to win every single game, every small-sided game, whatever it is, then he’ll be out there practising his free-kicks and things like that.

Cristiano Ronaldo and his son trained at the Estadio da Madeira field earlier this week (Picture: SIPA USA)

‘You don’t need me to tell you how good or driven he is, he’s unbelievable, he’s one of the greatest in the history of the game.’

Ronaldo’s obsession with maintaining peak physical condition landed him in trouble earlier this week, however, when he was photographed flouting coronavirus related lockdown guidelines in Madeira.

The former Real Madrid and Manchester United star was spotted being put through his paces at the local stadium and was warned by the island’s secretary of health warned Ronaldo over his conduct.

His transgression was subsequently called out by Lazio director of communications Arturo Diaconale, who club are currently just a solitary point behind Juventus in the race for the Serie A title.

‘Lazio’s position has always been to return to playing football in a safe atmosphere. If the Prime Minister says that we can return to training after May 3, we will all start organizing for that,’ Diaconale told Radiosei.

‘But the impression I have is that there is some favouritism. I am referring to the clubs to which their players are allowed to travel abroad, who will now return and do a quarantine period to return to training at the same time as those of Lazio.

‘The difference is that we followed the rules and stayed at home, unlike others; I’ve seen videos from Portugal showing some marvellous images of Cristiano Ronaldo training out on a football pitch.

‘Others have been able to train in peace abroad without restrictions, while we are not allowed to do the same in Italy.

‘I’m not saying it’s wrong, because professional athletes have to keep in shape. I’m just saying that they were given the advantage of going outside during quarantine. But I don’t want to create more controversy.’

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