"I think his discipline to push himself that much is a sickness, it's like a disease" - Evra provides fascinating insight on 'alien' Cristiano Ronaldo

Manchester United legend Patrice Evra has heaped praise on Cristiano Ronaldo for his discipline and labeled the Red Devils superstar as an 'alien'.

A lot has been said about five-time Ballon d'Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo in recent months. He has since found playing time hard to come by under Erik ten Hag after failing with his efforts to leave Manchester United in the summer.

Ronaldo was also the subject of severe criticism after he struggled to impress for Portugal during the last international break. It is thus safe to say that he is going through a rough patch.

However, he reminded the world of his status as one of the best footballers of all time after netting his 700th club career goal last weekend. Ronaldo's winner in Manchester United's 2-1 win against Everton in the Premier League added another feather to his cap.

Reflecting on Ronaldo's latest achievement, Evra dubbed his former teammate an alien. The Manchester United great also quipped that he would not call the Portuguese icon 'The Greatest Of All Time' for the same reason. He wrote in his Betfair column:

"Cristiano Ronaldo is an alien. I won't call him the GOAT, because he's not from this earth. It's crazy. What I like about Cristiano is his discipline. When I was training with him, that's the word that I had in my head every single day."

Evra added:

"He's scored 700 goals. 700 times this guy has scored. I can repeat it over and over and it's still hard to believe. But it's Cristiano Ronaldo, alien is how I'd describe him. Incredible discipline to do it."

Evra went on to explain how the 37-year-old continues to push himself no matter what others say. The Frenchman claimed that the player's discipline is a 'disease in a good way'.

"I think his discipline to push himself that much is a sickness, it's like a disease. I think he has an urge to push himself no matter what, he doesn't care what people say."

He added:

"I worry about when he retires because what is he going to do to find that drive and adrenalin to keep pushing himself? It's going to be tough for him. It's a disease in a good way."

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People don't see Cristiano Ronaldo's sacrifices, says Patrice Evra

Ronaldo may not be having the best of times, but people do not see the amount of effort he puts into himself, according to Evra. The former defender claimed that the forward has to make many sacrifices to be at the top of his game. He wrote:

"People don't understand how many sacrifices Cristiano Ronaldo has to make every single day. His diet, his sleep pattern, he can't enjoy going out and having a good drink with friends, so many sacrifices. To have that, it has to be part of your DNA."

Ronaldo has scored two goals and provided one assist in 11 games across all competitions for Manchester United this term.