The 33-year-old is the only player who wears a long-sleeved jersey in the Portuguese national team.
For around the last decade, Cristiano Ronaldo has worn nothing but his now signature long-sleeves, and that makes him an exceptional player from his national team.
Through most of his time with Manchester United and then to Real Madrid, the Portuguese star has stuck to this – except for a few rare occasions.
Ronaldo’s amazing preference for long sleeved jersey has made people to start asking the reason why he prefers it to short-sleeved jersey. No one is completely sure whether it is superstition, a fashion statement or simply the jersey he feels most comfortable in.
Aside from Ronaldo, other footballers namely Antoine Griezmann, David Beckham, Lionel Messi, Rooney, Daniel Sturridge, etc all love to wear long sleeved jerseys.
But brand Ronaldo does have a certain ‘look’ – and some reasons behind wearing long-sleeve are;
The long sleeves keep players warm ensures they stay dry and comfortable all match long
To stay warm in Cold Weather
To help against turf burns when they dive
And also because long sleeves look cool/perhaps swag
Potentially the turning point could’ve been the painful Euro 2004 and World Cup 2006 campaigns, both of which ended with Ronaldo in tears on the pitch.
He wore short-sleeves in the next two international tournaments, which were a failure – before making the switch for Euro 2012, where Portugal once again crashed out in a semi-final.
Whether it is superstition or fashion, Ronaldo’s legend continues to grow thanks to his incredible exploits on the pitch.
His incredible hat-trick against Spain showed that he’s turned up meaning business in Russia – and this could give him the nod to be tipped as the best-sportsman in the coming days.
