04 February 2023 , 12:50
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To be the best, some people need to think that they are the best.
Cristiano Ronaldo maintains the belief that he's the greatest footballer on the planet, as well as the best-looking. The Portuguese megastar, 37, has often worked as a model on the side, just as Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta remains renowned for his looks to this day.
Although Ronaldo didn't arrive at Manchester United nearly two full decades ago with the body of a pristine athlete, he worked hard off the pitch to spruce himself up and transform himself from a scrawny teenager. It wasn't only toning up his muscles either, as former team-mate Roy Keane recalled in his 2014 autobiography, The Second Half: "[Cristiano] was good-looking and he knew it.
"He was vain in that sense – at the mirror. He was a big lad, a big unit. I'd think, 'Good on you'. Looking at some of the other lads in front of the mirror, I'd think, 'You f*** nugget'."
Only three years his senior, Arteta - who Gary Neville memorably remarked in 2020 "always looks a million dollars" - possesses similar traits when it comes to his appearance. One of the Spaniard's old dressing room pals recently recalled Arteta's pre-match routine to ensure that he looked "perfect."
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Speaking to talkSPORT, ex-Arsenal midfielder Emmanuel Frimpong explained: "Well he was good on the pitch and he was very good looking off the pitch if you ask me! I remember Mikel sometimes in the changing room he would stand in front of the mirror, doing his eyebrows, making sure everything is perfect.
"It's a typical, 'Mikel Arteta: things have to be done perfect'. He was very quiet, he talks with wisdom, he talks with details. He was a player that I really respected because he used to help me a lot as a youngster. It's a shame that we didn't play together for so many years, but it's something that I got away with because I have a picture of him and me in my house."
Emmanuel Frimpong has revealed Mikel Arteta's vain habits in the dressing room (Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
Roy Keane realised how vain Cristiano Ronaldo was when he joined Man Utd (John Peters/Manchester United via Getty Images)Have your say! Will Arteta lead Arsenal to the Premier League title? Let us know your prediction in the comments section.
What'll make Arteta look even better is a Premier League winner's medal around his neck come May if Arsenal manage to romp to their first English title since 2004. The 40-year-old - who spent five seasons in North London as a player - lead his side to the 50-point mark at the halfway stage, putting the Gunners on course for the joint best-ever Premier League campaign to date.
Frimpong is confident that his former team-mate can bring the glory days back to the Emirates, adding: "I feel like he's a manager that's going to help Arsenal in the next couple of years, probably fight for the Champions League and also Premier League title. I have really, really fond memories of Mikel, I think he's a top, top guy and hopefully he can win the Premier League with Arsenal."