Cristiano Ronaldo: The public tried to jump as high as Man Utd star in 2019

Cristiano Ronaldo might just be the most athletic player that football has ever seen.

Even at the age of 37, the Manchester United star continues to prove himself to be just as strong, quick and agile as many top-class players who are years, if not a decade, his junior.

All those early mornings in the gym and unwavering dedication to nutrition has led to Ronaldo becoming rightfully revered as the most complete athlete to grace the beautiful game.

Ronaldo's superhuman leaping

However, of all the physical attributes that Ronaldo has in his locker, few are more breath-taking than his ability to hang in the air for headers as though he's an NBA player landing a slam dunk.

There have been many players before Ronaldo who have specialised in scoring headers, but none of them have ever done so by executing the technique that the main man has mastered.

From his bullet header against United in the Champions League to his gravity-defying leap at Sampdoria, Ronaldo has proven time and time again that he can rise to meet the ball like nobody else.

Now, that's all well and good, but it's hard to actually appreciate the superhuman nature of Ronaldo's jumping until you actually attempt to jump that high yourself.

Yes, you can applaud Usain Bolt for running 100 metres in 9.58 seconds, but it never truly blows your mind until you're ironed out on an athletics track having only clocked 15 seconds yourself.

"Martinez DONE DEAL! Chelsea Ronaldo BID!" (Football Terrace)

The general public vs Ronaldo's leaping

And back in the summer of 2019, the F2 Freestylers put that very philosophy to the test by devising an experiment that would help to show just how herculean Ronaldo's jumping really is.

They took to the streets of London with a large bracket from which a football was suspended 2.65 metres off the ground, which is the purported height Ronaldo reached to score his iconic header against Wales at Euro 2016.

The idea was that members of the public would come along and leap in an attempt to reach the football, thus replicating what Ronaldo manages to achieve when scoring at the top level.

The result? Well, it made for fascinating viewing with plenty of athletic and tall individuals falling miles short of the mark in what made for an eye-opening demonstration of Ronaldo's prowess.

However, the challenge was eventually completed with one very determined Australian in a stranger's trainers rising to the occasion, so be sure to check out all the drama down below:

Fan reaction

Fair play, Cristiano, fair play

It really does put Ronaldo's greatness into perspective, doesn't it?

While, yes, one particularly tall and determined gentlemen might have been able to match Ronaldo in the end, the fact that so many people tried and failed by such a large margin really did help to illustrate the brilliance of elite athletes.

As much as we might like to see ourselves in these top-class performers when we're being inspired by sport, we ultimately have to take it all with a pinch of salt in the knowledge that they truly are the best of the best.

And although that might seem like the most obvious statement of all, it's sometimes only when you see it spelt out like in the Ronaldo heading challenge that it truly sinks in.