Ronaldo at 41 — Obsession, Ego, or the Most Inspiring Thing in Sport?

Ronaldo is 41 years old and still playing football at the highest level. Some people call it inspiring. Some call it ego. The honest answer might be neither — and it might say more about all of us than it does about him.

In this episode of Between Sets, Vic and Matt break down the Ronaldo question that the fitness and sports world is genuinely divided on. Because this isn't really about football. It's about identity, obsession, and what happens when the thing you've built your entire life around starts to slip — and you refuse to let go.

In this episode:
✅ Is Ronaldo still performing at a level that justifies being at a World Cup at 41?
✅ The identity question — who are you when the thing that defines you is gone?
✅ Obsession vs ego — where's the line and has Ronaldo crossed it?
✅ What Messi vs Ronaldo's different paths tell us about how legends handle decline
✅ The fitness parallel — what happens to people who can't separate their identity from their training?
✅ Is Ronaldo inspiring the next generation or refusing to accept reality?
✅ The question that hits closest to home — is there something you're holding onto longer than you should?

💬 Inspiring or embarrassing himself? Give us your honest take in the comments. 👇

🎧 New episodes every week — subscribe so you never miss one.

ABOUT BETWEEN SETS:
Between Sets with Vic and Matt is the fitness and lifestyle podcast that goes beyond the gym. Unfiltered conversations about fitness, mindset, money, self-improvement, and real life — recorded between sets, no filter, no fluff.

CONNECT WITH US:
📸 Instagram: @itsthebspod
🎵 TikTok: @itsthebspod
🎧 Spotify & Apple Podcasts: Between Sets with Vic and Matt

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Oh Kilian dictator. Kiliandictador. Kilian dictator. Haland. Haland. He is a blue just like his dad. I always at the tea cat. Ha ha haland. I like Kylian dictator. I wanna get that as my like text message brain tone. The vest is like when he's on the pitch. Morphs into him and he's wearing the suit dictator suit. So funny. Alright, obviously, we're back. We're gonna talk a little bit more about Futebal. Fuchebal. Fuchebal soccer. We it's almost done. It's almost done. I know. I was thinking about it today. Like when I checked and there was no games today. I was like, what the fuck? We got eight games to make all the money we lost on betting. Ain't gonna happen. Speak for yourself, he says. Ain't gonna happen. Alright, welcome to Between Sets, where we talk about all things fitness, lifestyle, and apparently football. European football. Where we talk about fit and not fit. Fit and not fit. Today we're gonna keep going. It is World Cup season, so we're gonna talk a little bit more about some of the. The fever is there, but it's still it's subsiding a bit. Yeah, it is. It's gonna be sad. I missed the group stages. The group stages are the best part of the World Cup. Good times. 100%. Uh so we've talked, you know, we talked about Holland. We talked about Messi a little bit last time. Yep. Let's not forget. Some might call him the G-O-A-T. I am gonna say it though. We've like one fortune who's gonna be a good one. We're gonna talk about Cristiano Ronaldo. Yes, we're gonna talk about Ronaldo at 41 and how he's still in incredible shape. His biological age is what, like 29 or something like that. Um, kind of his like routine, his mindset, his whole come-up, kind of just like talking about him in general and why many people consider him to be the greatest to ever do it on the soccer pitch. There's definitely an argument for it. Yes. Um, and we're also gonna talk about you know how as you age you got the decline. We touched on it with Messi, but it's a little bit different in the Ren Ronaldo's case. Uh yeah, let's get into it. Yeah, so you know, he's 41 years old, he's still starting for Portugal. It's his last World Cup. They were just eliminated, so it really is his last World Cup. Umrigado. Obrigado. Obrigado. But yeah, he's just, you know, he's done a lot. He's the most decorated individual in football history. Five Ballon d'Ors, which is kind of nuts. And he's been at over 900 plus career goals. He's gonna be the first player probably this season to hit a thousand career goals. And Holland will do it by next year, but how many uh how many more seasons is he playing? Uh, he's still got a at least one or two. Yeah, yeah. His contract's like two to three years. That's why he didn't like burst out into tears after the World Cup. He was kind of like sad about it. I think it's more internationally he won't be able to represent. But apparently his son, who's now 16, is probably gonna be at the next World Cup. And then some people are saying that he might come back for the Euros at 43 just to play with his kid. I'm like, why wouldn't you or even be on the roster and not start, but just like be on the roster and put it put him on for a couple minutes. You could totally do that. Yeah, especially with his lifestyle. Yeah, you you can you can you can hold it like this? And then you can read it all at once. The old landscape versus what's the other one? Vertical. That's what that's what it is. Portrait, portrait, yeah. Uh so we'll just go through a couple things. Yeah, so he's the most decorative player, we just said that. He's 41 years old, he's playing club football in Saudi Arabia, and um for a shit ton of money. Yes, you got a billion dollars, I think. His con his contract is 250 million because that's the maximum per year, but he that's like his salary uh with all the bonuses because he gets a bunch of like lifestyle bonuses, it's valued at 680 million because he gets like a luxury villa, private jet, a fleet of cars, a full staff. He gets a hundred thousand dollar bonus per goal. I'm gonna throw up fifty-five thousand dollar bonus per assist. I'm gonna throw up, bro. He scores a goal, he makes more than people doing like I'm gonna throw up. I'm gonna throw up step brothers, yeah. Yet he's um, you know, even though Portugal's in this tournament, a lot of people are saying it should be Bruno Fernandez as like lead the lead man. That's also I think that's the same guy that was like, it's time to step aside, do Ronaldo, and then he lost like 10 million followers in like overnight. Step aside, Ronaldo. Step aside. So we're gonna talk about not that he's great, because we already know that. That's not really it. That's what does a man like him do, and what how has he built his entire identity about being the best at what he does? Um, so we're gonna talk about his career briefly. It's a quick little segment here. Um, so we started at Sporting Lisbon, he moved to Manchester United at 18. While he was there, he won three Premier League titles, a Champions League, and his first Ballon d'Or. So that would have been like 18 to 21, which is nuts. Not even in your prime, Dodge. Not even in his prime. Then he moved to Real Madrid in 2009, where he there, which was at the time, I think, like a world record transfer. Um, he won four Champions Leagues and four more Balondors, becoming the club's all-time. That's nuts. Then he was at Juventus, Manchester United, and Juve. I forgot that he was at Juventus briefly. He did play. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And then now he's at the Al Nassar area. He also played for AC Milan a little bit. Yeah, I think he hopped around, but his the main for is Real Madrid, and he was on Man U as well for a while. Of course. Um, in his prime, arguably the most complete footballer ever. Pace power, finishing, aerial ability, work rate, mentality. Dude, his vertical is nuts. Yeah, I think he holds the record for the highest header ever. It was like nine or ten feet or something. Like he literally jumped over a defender. I remember I saw the video. That was when he was on AC Milan, I believe. AC Milan, yeah. Or Juventus. Now a 41, he's still scoring proliferary in Saudi Arabia. What? Prolifically. Prolifically. I was just I I stumbled on my words. Um still in extraordinary periphery, still in extraordinary physical condition for his age, and still the most followed person on the planet, which I just found out on the car right here. 680 million followers. That's almost as much money as he makes per year. Let's talk about the physical obsession that defined his career. Lightweight. Lightweight. It's another day at the office. So, yeah, the difference between we talked about Messi, right? And uh and his daily routine or uh like his estimated prep or whatnot, how he's a bit more chill and there's a bit more of like a relaxed feeling. Yeah, yeah. This is the other side, like you know, in in Rocky, when like Rocky's prepping in the fucking forest, like lifting lifting rocks and like doing pull-ups on trees and whatnot, and then you have whatever the Russian guy's name is, he's like in the fucking lab, he has the mouthpiece on, and he's like running on the treadmill, they're injecting him with shit. He's like he's being uh like surveilled by three, four scientists. This is like what Ronaldo's relationship with his well-being and his body is it's like meticulous, it's too it's on point. There's a routine, zero alcohol consumption, carefully controlled nutrition, his daily recovery protocols are on point, which is honestly what has allowed him to get to this point, especially at 41. We were just talking about him. But with Messi, too, we said like as you get older, the recovery is like more important than the training. 100% and like what has allowed him to you know play at this level at this age. Um, and yeah, I wouldn't even be surprised if he played at 43 because it's only two years, and with this rec with this protocol, he totally could do it. I think he's gonna do it. Um, so he's got we touched on it several times, even episodes that he's not a topic. He comes up well when you talk about like the ultimate like athletes' routine, yeah. He's like one of the first people that so he's a he's he wears the Whoop, and Whoop has a proprietary uh like algorithm that uh defines your biological age, or what is it? No, is it biological age instead of your actual numerical age, chronological? And he's he's like significantly younger because of all these protocols. Body fat's low, muscle mass extremely high, his recovery markers are through the roof. I wonder what's VO2, Max, is probably like 50. We should plus we should look that up. Um, yeah, so his body is like the project, and football is what the project was for, right? So he didn't just become the best footballer in the world, he kind of like engineered himself to do it, and so that's kind of what I talked touched on with the whole Rocky Rocky number four. It's kind of crazy because so he's 41 in his biological age is 29, so he's 12 years younger biologically, and I'm just gonna like do a quick side thing here. But you know that guy, Brian Johnson, the mechanical, like the mechanical bible hacking guy, the blueprint, the guy who spends two million dollars a year on himself. You know what's crazy? Apparently, some uh I've been seeing these articles, I don't know if they're true, but he has some kind of degenerative disease now, and I think it's because of all the stuff that he's done, his body's like shutting down because he's gone, he just took it to the to a certain like nature be like, nah. Yeah, nah, you gonna you gonna die, you're gonna learn, boy. You're gonna learn. You think you think you're gonna play God? Not on my watch. There's only one God, so and it ain't you. That's why with comparing it to Ronaldo, where it's like, I think with that guy, he does it specifically just to like stay alive as long as possible. That's to the extreme, it's not even like for a purpose, whereas Ronaldo has obviously an amazing nutrition supplement recovery and training protocol, but he's applying it to a sport, and I think that's why probably he's gonna live longer than that guy. Well, I think well, Brian Johnson does it to try and end death, like he wants to live forever. It's the goal. Obviously, it's a very uh out there goal, right? But uh that's crazy. Well, you think he's gonna have to do some research on that. I know he thinks he's gonna he's like, I'm gonna live to like 150 minutes. Why the hell are you getting up and taking a shot of olive oil? Like relax. Do you see him on like do you see in like interviews and stuff when he's outside, he has a a hat that he wears as an umbrella because he's scared of UV rays? And I'm like, a fucking a little bit of sun exposure is not gonna give you. You're not a vampire, you stupid bitch. Also, we need the fucking sun. Exactly. Like, I take back that comment I just said, kind of. Yeah, okay. Back to Ronaldo, but yeah, Ronaldo's is different. It's like it's not to that extreme. He's not doing all those protocols, he's doing what's required for his body to be primed to perform the best it can, right? And be efficient. Yeah. Um so let's let's get into that next segment. And we already touched on it a little bit, but let's get into a bit more detail about what this decline actually looks like. Um, so this is where the conversation kind of gets a bit more real with regards to Ronaldo. Uh, because at his peak, he was one of the fastest players in the Premier League, clocked around or even above 38 kilometers an hour at full speed regularly. Fucking fast. Which is, you know, that's that's up there, though. That's up there. That's fast. Uh speed's gone now. That explosive first step that made him unplayable at uh 25 is measurably reduced. Like you're not seeing him sprint at those full speed capacities anymore. So obviously, kind of like the last episode when we spoke about Messi and how his game style has changed. You see this with Ronaldo as well. Um when he went to when he went to Juventus, his top level club impact dropped significantly. Um he moved to the he moved to Saudi Arabia, not because it was a sporting peak, but because you know the top European clubs are like, yeah, we don't really want you as a starter, like we'll pay you less if you want to be on the bench. And he's like, nah, yeah, he wants to be the star of the show. I'm a I'm a big brand, I'm gonna start. I want to start. And I I don't blame him. Like, why would you not want to start? Yeah, especially after all the work he put in. Yeah, and uh yeah, he still starts ahead of like you mentioned, Bruno Fernandez. He still starts ahead of him, which you know, questionable. I think Bruno just really wants the captain's armband. Yeah, he just wants he wants I think there's a few Portuguese players and maybe even Portuguese fans. I know not a lot, but I think there is a bunch that are ready for the next generation. The next generation. Because, like, obviously, you know, he was here in Toronto uh for the game against Croatia. That was his last World Cup game that he won and scored, which is pretty cool that it happened here. But like it was, I'm sure you saw the videos, but dude, there were people outside his balcony for like 48 hours. Yeah, it was like watching a scene from like the gladiator more reception than the Pope, and uh yeah, or like when the Pope speaks to the masses, that's what it looked like, but on an even larger scale. And then he comes out, he's like, Vamos! I remember Tia was talking about this with me, and she's like, It's kind of ridiculous that so many people would like spend two to three days camping outside another person's thing. I'm like, I I know what you mean. It is a cheap mindset. Yep, damn, that's crazy. But yeah, like it's they obviously he has such a massive influence on so many. I think a lot of people, like the average person that maybe is a fan of soccer um or plays, started because of him, right? You want to see your idol, right? And a lot of people will go to the extremes to see him. But you know what's crazy? I'm gonna hit you with some hard, hard, real, real hardness right here. Life lessons from Vic. Sidebar life lessons from Vic. Sometimes the hardest thing to accept isn't that you're declining, it's that you're declining and the world can see it before you can. God damn. That's probably like what what's happening. You know what I mean? We need to cut this up. How was Ronaldo in pr in premierly? How is Prime Ronaldo? Cut it, cut it. Uh okay, uh yeah, and as a trainer, you can kind of see this with clients, especially long-lasting clients that you've had in the past. They wanna, you know, they've been incredibly fit like in their 30s, late 30s, and they refuse to accept that maybe, you know, now in their mid-40s, they they require a different approach. Yeah. They're like, nah, I still got this shit. And you're like, you just hurt your knee last week. I do have that happen sometimes, like with clients that I've trained for like six, seven, eight years, and they're like, Oh, how come I was able to do pull-ups when we two years ago, and now it's like I'm struggling with it? I'm like, well, the fact that you're still able to even do pull-ups is a amazing. Yeah, maybe you're doing two reps than you did when you were 38 instead of 44, but like that's a massive difference. Your body is like, I'm not gonna be as strong as I was when I was in my mid-20s or as athletic, you know. Except for us though, right? Well, yeah, we're different. We're we're actually him times two. We're that they we're they. Oh, what the fuck? Take that back. We're them. No, we're him. We're him, we're him. We both identify um as him. But yeah, you know, Ronaldo, um, we're gonna talk about kind of like the psychology uh part now. Um, but yeah, he's always said publicly that football is his life, football is my life. Um, but not Cristiano Ronaldo is football. But it's not something he does, it's something that he like is. He just identifies with the sport. Um, since he was 12, every day has been structured about becoming and saying the best footballer on the planet. So this man has been literally locked in for 30 years. He just got up one day at 12 and he looked at his mom and said, I'm about to lock in. Fujibol. I'm about to lock in. His mom went, Mama, footybal, about to lock in. Yo, a shoy, football. He said, Futibol. That was actually pretty good. Thank you. Um, for 30 years, literally, his identity, his relationships, his self-worth, his routine, all of it has been in service of that single goal. The question is when that ends, and it is ending. We're ex-we're in the end right now. It's gonna happen. What's gonna happen? Who is Ronaldo if he's always been football? Big identity shit's gonna happen. I think he's probably gonna be involved in I think he's probably gonna end up coaching the national. In some capacity or doing something football related, either training his son to basically take over. You know, like what this is kind of reminding me of is like David Beckham's retirement and everything. Like, what does a pro athlete do? And we're just staying on on football topic, like what do they do afterwards? And you know, the the crazy, like the impressive thing with Beckham is that like as he was at the top of his game, he was also like a brand, an icon. And he was already beginning the shift before his soccer even ended. He had a plan, yeah. Like he knew when he was done, he got involved with uh Inter Miami, he has like all these deals and shit. He's in commercials and all that stuff. His life is so it's like the transition for him was so smooth and easy that like maybe he doesn't even really miss playing because like just the next level of life has occurred. Whereas for Ronaldo, he's the same thing, he's a big brand, he has all these like brands under him that like sponsoring him, but like I don't really see that same change or transition to like something else because you won't see him on TV or anything. Well, I was gonna say, I don't think he really enjoys the public eye. Yeah, he's very private with his family, meanwhile, he has the most fat, which is crazy. I do not like public. Whereas David Beckham is always in the public. He loves that like he loves being in the public eye, buddy. Um but yeah, like you were saying, it's like now he's facing this psychological challenge of like what do you do now? Um, when you are your job, the prospect of that ending isn't a career change, it's like it's the death death of an identity, which is huge. He almost has to find a way to reinvent himself. Ego death. Ego death, yeah. Um, research on elite athletes, specifically retirement, consistently shows that they go into like depression, loss of purpose. Big time, big inflation. Yeah, we see it a lot with other sports. A lot of these athletes like comp like uh we're gonna keep it in soccer, but Ronaldinho is a good one, like and even Neymar recently, like they're very similar in that sense. This happens to lots of the Brazilians, Ronaldo as well. But like they get to the top of their game, and like you know, you're you're coming from like the flavellas of Brazil living in a mud hut, and then you suddenly you're making billions of dollars or mil hundreds of millions, and you party, and like you're like you go from this life of you know, no one knows who you are to everybody knowing who you are. I think that affects a lot of people. He did a obviously Ronaldo did a great job of not letting that get to him. Um, but I think like a lot of these athletes that I like I've seen now, like I watched a video the other day, it was like a Real Madrid like legends game, and it had Ronaldo and Ronaldinho, and they were like just fat and slow. They kick still would kick the ball like really well and shed. But oh, you mean OG Ronaldo? Sorry. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Brazil Ronaldo. Yeah, bro, he's like 120 kgs. Yeah, he's he's got a gut on. He is a big boy. Even Ronaldinho, he's like like he just looks like a fat Jamaican guy. That guy signed to a um level three club in uh South America, I believe. Ronaldinho? That's crazy. He's coming back next season. He's like 43, 44, or something like that. Yeah, I don't know. He signed. Um, but yeah, like I said, it they you know, they get the press, lost a lot of them end up committing suicide as well. Like that has happened to athletes. Big time. Their relationships end because like they're married to someone while they're athletes, and then their partner is like, the fuck? Like, what's good, what's gonna happen now, right? Um, but Ronaldo seems to be extending his career. Sounds like a good partner, yeah. I know, right? Oh, you don't make and thin? You don't make $600 million a year anymore. Only $500? I go find somebody else. Yes. Um, but yeah, so I think like he is probably gonna stay involved in the sports some capacity. I would imagine so. Um, but now, like, how would we compare that to the gym? Something a little closer to home. So people who define themselves as an entirely as someone who trains can face a similar version of this when they get injured, they age, or even life circumstances force them to stay. And I've experienced this with clients, like when you know, a client of mine had like uh like a surgery on their foot, and then like it was like they went into like a huge depression because they would train five, six days a week, and then it's like all of a sudden you can't walk and you're bedridden, and it just like completely fucks you up mentally. You know what I'm talking about. But yeah, just as an example, but even someone who's not a client but a gym goer whose whole personality is being in the gym. Like, I'm not saying my whole personality is being in the gym, but like if I were to get like the fuck are you talking about? Dev I have other personalities. Um, it's a large part of my personality, but like if I were to like for some reason be unable to train, it would definitely fuck with me. What about unable to train in game? If I can't train in game, you take me you take me in my wheelchair to the nearest nearest bridge and just fucking that's this man's uh gamer task. That's my favorite time. Add him up, train and game. Train and game. You can find me on all platforms. You know what's interesting? I could see Ronaldo doing like some kind of next kind of fitness gym or some shit like that. Yeah. Like the Ronaldo method or something like that. Like a facility or something. Yeah. A training facility. That would be a good thing. Like an F-45, but it's R this is an interesting number right now. Is it R9? No, R9. He's seven. R7, right. R7. R7 training. But uh here's a personal question for you.

SPEAKER_01 22:34

Fuck.

SPEAKER_00 22:35

How much of your identity is tied to what you do? Training, the podcast, DJing. I'm talking to you specifically. Because I want to be what happens if that if I that identity of one of those things or all of them disappeared tomorrow. You know what's cool for me is I have like 20 hats on. So I'm good. I am men of a million hats. I am man that wear hat. I change hat. Head change, I stay the same. Yeah, it's very nice. I feel like uh same question reflected at me. I would probably just yeah, I'd find something else to obsess. Except for the video games. If the video game goes, Matt goes. I'm I'm getting to Neuralink, turn me off and just send me up. Send me up to fucking beat me up. Just leave me, drop me off an Azeroth. Beat me up, Scotty. Leave me there. Um okay. Obsession. Yep. We're not it's not gonna be long before we get to that point in technology. Play games with your buttons. The other day, I'm just gonna sidebar here. The other day I was sitting on the couch playing my Steam Deck, right? I'm laying like this, and I'm like, man, I wish I could just like look up and there'd be a giant screen, and there's glasses that you can. Yeah, there's yeah, yeah. I forgot what they call XR or something. You plug them into the Steam Deck or any anything, yeah, and it just projects like a 200-inch screen. Yeah, it's like a VR. And I was thinking about it like in my head, in the moment, I'm like, man, how would this look from like Teo's perspective? Sitting on the couch, I'm just like, it's like looking up into the screen, but he's paralyzed. I'm just like staring up into the screen. I'm like, how fucked is that? But we're gonna get there. Only things moving are your thumbs. He's one, he's one. Is he breathing? Yeah, he's one. He's breathing. Um, okay, so obsession over discipline versus discipline, and where is that line? Um, the debate that splits opinions on Ronaldo more than anything. At 41, maintain the physical condition that he has is extraordinary. The discipline required sleep, nutrition, training, the sacrifice of a normal life. That's another thing that I think is pretty overlooked. Like, we're talking about his he obviously he's gotta have his shit dialed in, but he can't have a normal life. Like, he doesn't drink, he doesn't really his choice, but that's a part of the sacrifice, I guess. That is his burden to bear. But he's proof that the body can be maintained far longer than most people believe if you treat it with that level of respect. Yeah, yeah, with that level of seriousness, exactly. You know, to to anybody that's like has excuses about age and decline uh arriving earlier than it needs to, just think about him. Think about Ronaldo and what he's that's it. See you guys in the next one. There is something genuinely beautiful. Did you write this? Genuinely beautiful out of man who refuses to accept limits. How did you know? That sounds like something you would say. In the case that it's concerning, I'll do the positives you did to make this. Normally we swap out segments, but man pulled man called an audible, went halfway through the segment, and told me, here you go. Get in there. In the case that it's concerning for like that obsession versus just when it gets to a point where it's like, okay, it's too much. Is it though? Is it ever too much? Well, I guess this is what we're discussing. Beat me up. Uh I guess if you're too obsessive to the point that it can't be like modulated or affects your family, maybe. Yeah. If it gets because it gets to that point, it obviously could be seen as a negative, not to the person that's affected. Family is the most important. Yeah. The refusal to accept that other people should lead the team over him. Uh stuff like that. It's more like ego. Do you think though it's not really leadership or discipline? It's kind of maybe the ego is taking over. The thing with this like beef with Dan uh Bruno Fernandez and all that. Do you think that's Ronaldo saying, I want to stay captain and I want to lead the team? Or it's like the porch, like uh is it who's a Mourinho? Who does the who's coaching? I think yeah, I've I feel like it's a mixture. Like it's both. Like he's at his last World Cup, you gotta let him lead the fucking team. Yeah, but also I see the other side. Uh like do I feel like maybe some of the other players even out of respect for him, but like they probably just feel like they're not getting fully utilized. What do you think of this? Great, the greatest players always know when to step back or when to change, adapt. Messi adapted his game, his role, positioning. Ronaldo has potentially largely refused to do so. Is that because he just thinks he still can handle it, or is that because he's not ready to let go? I think it's both. I think he's both thinks he's A and is for the most part capable and or more capable than the younger guys. And B, I think yeah, it's because he's been it's been his life for 30 years. He's just like refusing for it to end. It's kind of wild when you refer yourself in the third person, though. Yeah. Like at that point, are you even like you or you're just like the the persona that you're yeah, yeah. Um interesting. So yeah, kind of potentially working against him and his team, if you think about it. Well, like in when your Portugal won the Euro, that game, it was 0-0. They subbed off Ronaldo in the 67th or 68th minute, immediately scored. And I remember talking to my Portuguese friends at the time, because everyone was like obviously glazing Ronaldo, they always do. They still do, they still do, but I was like, you guys see how the team plays without him when their teams will not the objective when he's on is get the ball to him. But when he's not on, they're like, oh fuck, we have 10 other guys that we can play with, and they ended up winning. And then can coach, can we go on finally? So the deeper question is a life with no room for anything but the pursuit, actually a good life. Nah. We'll leave that up to you. So the quality that made Ronaldo the best in the world. Let me say nah. You're not giving a pay. Whoa, whoa, whoa. We're gonna sit in the t- Okay, fine, we'll sit in the tension for a bit. This is a two-man show. We're gonna get cancelled by a bunch of Portuguese guys or girls. I don't know. That's that's something to be interpreted. I think I mean if you're a professional athlete at the highest level, probably yes. But for the average person who's trying to be really, really, really, really ridiculously good looking or good at something, sorry. He is both of those things. Uh, I don't think it's like you need to have some balance, right? We that like I'm pretty sure we talked about balance like a 50,000 times on the podcast. Yeah. And we ain't about to stop. No, and I think it's like, you know, it's nice to be extremely committed and driven, but like if you can't enjoy your life, what's the point? 80-20, fam. Like, what's the point? I'm always gonna preach that. Yeah, okay. Here we go. Next segment, bringing our people are gonna be like, screw you guys, blah blah blah. I'm not taking sides, I'm just I'm just talking here. Just talking Ronaldo versus Messi. Two ways to age. The comparison is perfectly timed too, because you know, Ronaldo just getting out of the World Cup. This is probably the last World Cup, sl like skimming by and staying in. He would be 42 in the next World Cup. I think he'll do it. Uh so yeah, FIFA president will want him. Both have uh Messi has adapted his game entirely, less pace, different positioning, plays in pockets, walks a lot, knows when to battle, uses energy for the moments that matter, um, which brings out unexpected like pushes and goals. Whereas Ronaldo is kind of still attempting to be a version of the player he was. Yeah. Running the channels, attempting to dominate when it comes to physicality, still like running the pitch a lot, competing with players that are 15 years younger. Yeah, and yeah, he has the that ability to do so because of all of the training and like perfect planning for his body, but still, you're probably not going to be able to keep up with someone in their mid to late 20s, right? Definitely not, and there's just like you could tell that stylistic difference of like someone and you have to keep in mind the guys that he's competing with are also professional athletes, so it's not like it's untrained, yeah, or semi-trained. These are people that are doing the net calls that he's doing, but probably even more efficient because you know, 20 years ago, training has changed so much, and the and like specifically the nutrition supplementation and recovery has changed so much that like nowadays the athletes that are getting treated now with their recovery protocols and stuff is like exponentially better than it was 20 years ago. So not only is it competing with the guys who are just biologically younger, but that are experiencing the same, if not even more rigorous and dialed in. Yeah, well, the sporting world and the technology, everything just keeps getting better and better and better, right? So you can only expect the up-and-coming athletes to perform better and have more endurance, stuff like that, power, strength. So it's just like an exponential increase in talent. And it's only gonna get that being said, though, I haven't seen like any Joga bonito from like the Brazilians, like the tikitacas dying. Like, where the hell that shit going? That's a good question. You know, the samba style. Yeah, where the hell that shit going. Um, in regards to the Messi Ronaldo debate, it's fucking hot out here. It is, it is. We sweating. Uh, the two of them adaptation versus resistance is a good way. Like you we said, Messi has really adapted and he's playing slower and he's kind of just like chilling until he needs to touch the ball. Whereas Ronaldo is just straining himself always. Um, it's not about who was better in their prime. Do you agree with that though? Yeah, I would I've watched I've watched all the games, and when I see Messi play, he just chills. But he's walking, he just waits, and then but the team is so designed around getting the ball to him. Like he they've run so many plays where he knows where he needs to be. Yeah. Whereas I think the run the Portuguese team is still designed to get the ball to Ronaldo, but Ronaldo, like you said, it's like he still plays the whole pitch. Like he doesn't just chill back and wait for goals. Yeah. Which is admirable for sure, but like, you know, you have to adapt like you're getting older. There's that like refusal. Yeah, he refuses to I think he just refuses to accept that his time is coming to an end. Yeah. Which sucks. I I understand that, but like at the same time, you kind of have to. That's time comes for us all. We're just dust in the wind. Dust in the wind. Um, and like I said, it's not about who was better in their prime. They're both extremely decorated athletes. That debate is completely separate and it's endless. You can go back and forth about it. I'm not debating that. And and it's about which approach to the back end of greatness is more sustainable, more honest, and ultimately more impressive. And I think Messi does take the cake on that one. Um, there is an argument about adapting gracefully that requires more self-awareness and the courage to accept that things are changing. Right? So there is a bit of like humility in that as well, where you're like, okay, I'm in my last leg of my career, like, how do I make it good and not get injured and you know, and not have these expectations weighed on me, right? Um, you know, when let's talk about you know a little bit about our clients real quick. But like when you work with clients, uh either of us, um, who are aging and struggling to accept it, um, how would we how do you like structure that in a training context, like the the messy approach versus the Ronaldo approach, and which one is better to do clients to do for clients long term? I mean, obviously the adaptation is adapting. You know, we can't, it's hard to compare. The adaptation is adapting. Did I say that? That's what you said, bro. The adaptation is adaptat's kilian dictator. That's crazy. Oh, and I know when it comes to the clients, you honestly have to honor what they what their wishes are, right? Like obviously you try to push them towards a goal that is better suited for them, but if they ultimately say no. I'm just saying hi to my cat. Hi, he's staring at me. If you if they ultimately say no and they want to do whatever they want to do, then you have to try and you know structure what they want because you know Yeah, it's definitely a fine line. You have to because they hire you for your expertise. You you could you could kind of suggest like say they don't want to change, they're not ready to change their ways. You could kind of suggest different fine-tuned like or different approaches to still get to the state. Yeah, or like what's then that's what's important to you to keep doing 10 pull-ups, maybe a lower impact work towards the same volume, yeah, like less volume but same intensity. So they feel but I feel like most most times they'll listen to you. Yeah, as they should, because they're hiring. Yeah, so like you would just have to recommend a little switch, less focus on whatever is hindering them or straining their body, and more focus on what actually works for them at the time, I guess. So here's some inspiring lessons from our boy Ronaldo, and also some cautionary tales. So the more inspiring stuff that that we can take from this is your body is more maintainable than you think. I think a lot of people hit their 30s and they kind of just be like, Well, this is too many times. Like, you know, we have friends that are all in our 30s, and sometimes when I hang out with some of my friends, I'm like, I'd do a double tip. Like, I'm like, you look like you've aged 72 years. Like, yeah, because they gave up, or they're like, Oh, I'm just I'm so tired, or like they have no energy to do anything, and it's just like tons of excuses. It's really the excuses that are the worst. You train and you eat and you sleep, like the decline curve is way smaller, but then on that flip side, if you don't do that, the decline like I've seen people hit 30 and then just decline so rapidly, and then they're like in their 40s and they're like at the doctor every other weekend. Yep, you know what I mean? Sad. That ain't gonna be me, I'll tell you that much. Um and longevity in in any pursuit requires um doing the fundamentals, you know, like sleep, nutrition, recovery, exactly. Day in consistent day out, except for Saturday. I think that's like a I think the consistency as you get older, because I think people have kids, and then that the life happens, you get married, you buy a house, wherever you start your life. I'm interested to see when when I have a kid because every time I've heard that excuse, like, oh, I can't get to the gym because you know I got the kids and all that shit, and I keep saying, get to the fucking gym. Yeah, I'm gonna bring my child with me. I don't know what you mean. Gonna be lifting the child. Yeah, he's gonna be lifting the mid the minute he's born. Now, the more cautionary lessons. So you want to, you know, building an identity that isn't entirely dependent on a single pursuit. So kind of diversify yourself a little bit because the more of yourself you put into one basket, the more catastrophic it feels when that basket breaks. Diversification. I'm about to diverse portfolio, exactly. So the stock trader between refusing to quit analyst and refusing to adapt. One is courage, the other is avoidance. Um, and the people around you can often see your decline before you can, and being open to that feedback is a form of strength, not weakness. I think that's very true. I think people get like very defensive as well, like and then like tend to shut out. And you know, lastly, grace in transition is his own kind of greatness, which is true, right? Like, damn, that was that was fire today. We saw that was heavy. The closing statement regarding those two little talk, maybe Ronaldo isn't a cautionary tale about ego, he's a complicated human story about what happens when you give everything to one thing and that thing starts to leave. Most people will face a version of this. The question is, what have you built alongside it? Oh my god. We should ask David Beckham. Yeah. And then just to finish off for fun, because it wouldn't have been an episode without some rapid fire. Agree or disagree fast. No, don't do it to me. Ronaldo should be starting for Portugal. Agree or disagree. Well, they're out. Okay, assume that beginning of the World Cup. I think he should be subbed in afterwards. Or subbed off. I think if he starts, he should sub off. But I feel like they could just bring him in as a like he shouldn't play the full night. Yeah, exactly. I think having him start given it's his last one and to like lead the team, but not playing 90 minutes. Like, get get get this man a goal and get him off. Uh, he's playing for ego, not for the team. Uh hard to say. Uh that could go either way. In the context of Portugal, it's kind of hard. It could be both. Could go either way. He wants it for the team, but more for Portugal. But he wants to be the one to do it. Like, the reason Portugal wins the World Cup and the Euros. I guess that's more egotistical in the end. Yeah. His physical dedication, dedication of 41 is the most impressive thing uh in his career right now. I would agree. Well, yeah, he's not really doing anything else. Like he scored a couple goals, he's still performing, you know, at the elite level. Messi has handled aging better than Ronaldo. I don't know about that one. Ronaldo's looking pretty fucking. Yeah, Messi looks worse than Ronaldo. Yeah. If we're talking physically, I'm gonna go with Ronaldo. Um, Portugal will win this World Cup with Ronaldo. Disagree. A little late on that one. Yeah. Um, most people quit too early. Ronaldo will never quit. Agree or disagree. Never give I never give up. I mean, he'll probably quit at some point. Um, the greatest not willingly. Not willingly. The greatest athletes are always the last ones to know it's over. No, no, I think a lot of people know when to call it early. Not even calling it early, maybe calling it at the right time. At the right time, yeah. Um, okay, that's pretty much all we had. Uh, is there anything you want to add to that? Any takeaways from today's episode in regards to that? I just want to leave a question to the listener or listeners. There's like three or four. What's your take on how Ronaldo's career is ending? And furthermore, is he the G-O-A-T? Let us know what you think in the comments. I want some examples. I want some reasoning. I need to hear, I don't want to just hear some blind shit saying it's gonna be all our Portuguese flat fans of Portugal flags. Portugal flags, just like non-stop. Yes, we but that's it. All right, uh, FIFA's almost done. I think we're gonna bang out one more episode. I think we should do one after the tournament's done or the final, before the final. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. And then we can discuss our predictions. And then we're gonna we're going back to some some Norway. Norway's gonna take it. That would be nuts. That would be nuts. All right. Catuas in the next one. Ow. I need to shower so bad, dude.