Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the greatest athletes that football has ever seen.

Whether or not you prefer him to Barcelona's Lionel Messi, you'd be blind not to appreciate Ronaldo for how well he's looked after his body and ensured his longevity well into his thirties.

We are, after all, talking about a sportsperson that is competing with players more than 10 years his junior to be crowned the best in the business.

And whenever it looks as though Ronaldo's form is finally dropping off a cliff, he puts in a performance that reminds everybody he's not bowing out anytime soon.

Besides, there can be no denying the work-rate that has made him one of the greatest in history - every single one of his former teammates will vouch for his insane dedication to training.

Proving age is just a number

This is a man who turned up hours early at Manchester United to hone his skills and arrived at the Real Madrid training ground past midnight for an ice bath after a Champions League away day.

Pretty dedicated, right? But we want to go one step further and assess how Ronaldo has rolled back the years at 34 aside from trying harder than most.

Well, The Sun have taken an in-depth look into Ronaldo's preparation and taken a focus on what the Portuguese eats to ensure he stays in optimal condition.

Ronaldo's six meals a day

It's been revealed that the Juventus striker eats as many as six meals a day, chicken is considered to be 'magic' component to his diet and fish also features regularly throughout.

A typical day for Ronaldo is broken down as the following:

Breakfast: Cheese and ham, low-fat yoghurt 

Lunch #1: Chicken and salad

Lunch #2: Tuna, olives, eggs and tomato

Snacks: Fresh fruit, avocado toast

Dinner #1: Fresh swordfish and salad

Dinner #2: Steak and calamari

The life of a world-class athlete doesn't sound so bad, does it?

Ok, sure, Ronaldo is afforded more calories than the everyday person considering his daily training and gym work, but his diet plan doesn't exactly sound like a habitual punishment.

Away from his eating habits, it's also explained that Ronaldo ensures he gets eight hours sleep every night and that's in addition to five naps every day. 

The 34-year-old follows a strict pilates routine in order to strengthen his core, regularly goes swimming with his son and addresses any niggles with a £50,000 Cryotherapy chamber.

Suddenly it's starting to sound a little more unrealistic than just stocking up on tuna...

In summary, just because the diet looks appetising, it doesn't mean that becoming the world's most complete football is in anyway easy. Sorry ladies and gents.