Former Tottenham and Real Madrid midfielder Rafael van der Vaart has made a bizarre penis joke about Cristiano Ronaldo, praising the Portuguese superstar for being 'ahead of his time' with his work ethic.
Widely regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time, Ronaldo has long impressed teammates with his work ethic on the training pitch and in the dressing room.
The Manchester United and Real Madrid legend is still going strong just two months after his 40th birthday, with fifteen goals and three assists from eighteen appearances for Saudi Pro League team Al-Nassr so far this season.
Several of Ronaldo's former teammates have praised the Portugal international for his outstanding professionalism and dedication to football over the years, but none have done so in the same way as Van der Vaart did this week.
The Dutchman, who appeared on talkSPORT radio's TheLineUp podcast, made a bizarre penis joke while recalling his time in the Real Madrid dressing room between 2008 and 2010.
The 41-year-old said: 'He never left the house! I always tell this joke: Ronaldo is the only player whose penis I've never seen. He was always the first to train and the last to leave.”
Van der Vaart, whose joke had people on the podcast bursting into laughter, continued: “First of all, his body, wow. He was a machine.
'He was a bit ahead of his time, today's players do the same. But his training in the gym, his diet, his sleep, all that was more important to him than training extra hard (on the field).”
The ex-Netherlands international then explained Ronaldo's hunger for goals, explaining that the drive was sometimes 'selfish'.
“He was incredibly selfish,” Van der Vaart added. 'When we won 6-0 and he didn't score he wasn't happy, but when we lost he was happy when he scored two.
'Was he just playing for himself? No, it was just his need to score. Ruud van Nistelrooy was the same.
'We had a lot of conversations with him and it was very interesting because he kept saying, “I need my goals!”.'
Ronaldo is chasing the astonishing feat of scoring 1,000 goals in his world football career, with his remarkable tally currently standing at 915.
The Portuguese attacker took the 200th penalty of his career last Friday, scoring his 914th goal. He scored twice to help Al-Nassr to a 2-0 win over Damac in the Saudi Pro League.
Ronaldo and Van der Vaart only worked together for one season at the Bernabeu, with the ex-Man United star leaving for Real Madrid for a then world record fee of £80 million in 2009, before the Dutchman left for Tottenham Hotspur in August 2010.
The Portuguese icon, who did not win a trophy alongside Van der Vaart that season, won two LaLigas and four Champions Leagues during his stay in the Spanish capital.
Ronaldo, who turns 40 in February, admitted last month he might miss his 1,000-goal target in what was his biggest retirement hint yet.
When presented with the platinum Quinas Trophy by the Portuguese Football Federation in November, Ronaldo said: “I face my life now as if I were living in the moment. I can't think long term anymore.
“I said publicly that I wanted to achieve a thousand goals, but it seems that now everything is easy; last month I reached nine hundred.
'It's about living in the moment and seeing how my legs will respond in the years to come. If I score a thousand goals, that's fine, but if I don't, I'm already the player with the most goals in history.'
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