Cristiano Ronaldo was left impressed by former teammate Mesut Ozil’s recent body transformation.
Ronaldo is no stranger to the gym and knows the sacrifices involved in building and maintaining a ripped physique and now it appears his influence is growing on the German.
The former Real Madrid and Arsenal star announced his retirement from football 12 months ago after a short spell in Turkey with Istanbul Basaksehir.
The 34-year-old cited recurring injuries for his premature retirement but unlike some ex-players, Ozil has continued to stay in optimum shape.
By the looks of things, the former midfielder has spent his free time in the gym, bulking up and working on his cardiovascular conditioning.
Ozil recently posted a video on Instagram of himself training with Battle ropes whilst sporting a very recognisable increase in muscle in his upper body and arms.
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Alongside the video he wrote the caption: “Always stay ready, then you don’t need to get ready.”
The clip sparked a positive reaction from fans and players, not least from fellow gym-buff Ronaldo.
After coming across the video the Al-Nassr star wrote: “Bro not bad” followed by a wink emoji, giving a public thumbs up to Ozil for his progress so far.
Other notable comments included one from former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand who wrote: “Looking strong bro.”
Ex-Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger wrote: “beast”, while Franck Ribery left a heart emoji and another ripped ex-pro in former Brazil star Ze Roberto added: “Machine.”
Ozil has since garnered 1.4 million likes on the video with fans showing positivity towards the 2014 World Cup winner.
And fans could see the star back in action again this summer ahead of the Over-35 World Cup in June.
The tournament is set to take place at Newcastle’s St James’ Park with Ozil in contention to represent Germany alongside former stars Sami Khedira and Kevin Kuranyi.