Why Cristiano Ronaldo has black toenails: Portugal superstar shares his pre-match routine before Portugal vs Norway
Cristiano Ronaldo’s toenail color grabbed attention after the five-time Ballon d’Or star shared a glimpse of his pre-match routine online. The 41-year-old is set to play for Portugal in the Nations League game against Norway on Sunday evening and posted a photo of himself wearing leg compression boots on Instagram.
Ronaldo is known as one of the hardest-working footballers, and his dedication off the pitch plays a big part in how long he’s stayed at the top. In his recent photo, his bare feet showed black toenails—a detail that’s actually part of his careful routine.
Even though his feet must take a beating, Ronaldo reportedly paints his toenails black for a good reason. According to The Athletic, the black polish helps protect his nails from bacteria. Since he trains nearly every day and spends lots of time in sweaty shoes and boots, this can lower the chance of fungal infections.
Britain’s Royal College of Podiatry said a small study supports the idea that nail polish can help protect toenails. Dr. Helen Branthwaite explained, “Our feet have over 250,000 sweat glands, producing about half a pint of sweat daily. Fungal toenail infections usually come from athlete’s foot, and if untreated, this skin infection can spread to the nails.”
This trend isn’t just in football—it’s popular in combat sports too. For example, former boxing champion Mike Tyson and MMA fighters like Israel Adesanya and Andrei Arlovski have also sported painted nails.
Ronaldo has smashed many records over the years and is now chasing a remarkable 1,000th career goal. So far, he’s scored 979 for club and country, with a VAR check recently stopping him from reaching 980 in Portugal’s win over Wales.
One teammate likely to assist Ronaldo’s milestone goal is Joao Felix, who plays alongside him for Portugal and Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia. Felix, who once played in the Premier League with Chelsea, dreams of setting up that historic strike.
“I’ve already thought about it,” Felix said in a recent interview. “When he’s one goal away, I’ll try to get the assist. That goal will be part of football history, and it would be amazing to help make it happen.”