Cristiano Ronaldo paints his toenails black for same reason Mike Tyson did for boxing

Cristiano Ronaldo paints his toenails – but not for fashion reasons. The Al-Nassr star, 39, stunned fans on social media by uploading a picture of himself wearing black nail varnish while standing next to his 13-year-old son, Cristiano Jr.

The Instagram post has received almost 19 million likes, but many fans are confused by Ronaldo’s toenails. Yet there’s a genius reason behind the polish.

As reported by SportBible, Ronaldo paints his toenails to prevent fungi and bacteria, a problem which can impact footballers due to their sweaty boots. The varnish helps create a protective layer and hardens the toenails, which stops them from becoming cracked and causing an unnecessary injury.

Footballers aren’t the only athletes to paint their toenails. It’s believed Mike Tyson did the same during the height of his heavyweight boxing career, while former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya has done the same.

Ronaldo is one of the greatest footballers in history. He’s won seven league titles across three countries (England, Spain and Italy), the Champions League five times and Euro 2016 with Portugal.

He is also a five-time Ballon d’Or winner and has played for three of Europe’s biggest clubs in Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus. Yet he’s not achieved all this by chance or talent alone and is meticulous with his preparation. Ronaldo follows a strict diet and exercise program, and he also takes regular naps throughout the day to ensure he’s well rested for games.

Whatever Ronaldo is doing to stay at the top of his game is working. Despite entering his 40th year, the prolific forward has scored 27 goals and provided 11 assists in just 28 games for Al-Nassr this season.

He also has no plans to retire at either club or international level, with Euro 2024 approaching. Ronaldo, who has scored the most goals in men’s international football (128), is expected to captain Portugal at the upcoming tournament in Germany.

Ronaldo’s contract with Al-Nassr doesn’t expire until June 2025 – when he’ll be 40 – and could sign an extension if the Saudi Pro League can continue to attract the world’s best players. The likes of Sadio Mane, Karim Benzema and Neymar have all joined Saudi clubs since Ronaldo signed for Al-Nassr in January 2023.

Ronaldo said last July: “I’m 100 per cent sure I won’t return to any European club. I’m 38-years-old. European football has lost a lot of quality. The only valid one and still doing good is the Premier League. They’re way ahead of all the other leagues.”