VIDEO - MEET THE NIGERIAN WHO TRAINED CRISTIANO RONALDO PERSONALLY AHEAD OF NEXT SEASON

VIDEO - MEET THE NIGERIAN WHO TRAINED CRISTIANO RONALDO PERSONALLY AHEAD OF NEXT SEASON

Former Real Madrid star, Cristiano Ronaldo trained with Nigerian-born Portuguese retired sprinter Francis Obikwelu as the Juventus star looks to start the new season at top speed. Ronaldo scored in his first pre-season game for Juventus but couldn’t save Maurizio Sarri’s mend from losing 3-2 against Tottenham.

At 34, the Portuguese forward is out to prove that age is no barrier to success by winning a sixth Champions League crown – his first with Juve. Obikwelu is certainly a man who can help Ronaldo with his running:  “It was a great experience to train with my friend,” Ronaldo wrote on Instagram alongside a clip of the pair.

Obikwelu can be seen keeping a close eye on the winger as he launches into a sprint. And he earned some admiring glances too, former Real Madrid colleague Marcelo commenting: “Good technique kid!”

Obikwelu was born in Onitsha and holds the record for the fastest time in the 100 m set by a European competitor with a time of 9.86 seconds. He finished second in the 100 m at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, the first medal ever in athletics sprinting events for Portugal. He won 100 m and 200 m in 2006 at the European Championships in Athletics and became the first male athlete to win both 100 m and 200 m in the European Championship.

He based himself in Lisbon, Portugal, as a 16-year-old, after competing at the 1994 World Junior Championships. After being rejected by both Sport Lisboa e Benfica and Sporting Clube de Portugal, he worked for a while as a construction worker in the Algarve. He decided to learn Portuguese, and his teacher put him in contact with Belenenses, where he restarted practising. While living in Portugal, Francis was adopted by a lady who he now proudly refers to as his “mother”.

He then made a decision to run for Portugal. The news was broken in July 2000 by Nigerian sprinter Mercy Nku, who like Obikwelu is based in Lisbon. She said Obikwelu took the decision because of neglect by Nigerian sports officials when he was injured while representing Nigeria in Sydney, Australia. “He had to go to Canada to undergo an operation on his knee spending his own money.” He became a Portuguese citizen in October 2001.

Both his athletics achievements, his life story and his personality made him a popular figure in his adoptive country, where he is nicknamed Chico, the short form of the Portuguese version of his first name. And Sporting Lisbon commented to show their pleasure at seeing two stars associated with the club together, as Obikwelu has run for their athletics team. On his account, Obikwelu posted a photo with the message: “It was a pleasure to train with my good friend.”

After Juventus loss against Tottenham, their eternal rivals Inter Milan, Atletico Madrid and South Korea’s K-league All Stars still await them on their tour as Ronaldo prepares for his 18th season in the round leather game.