Football: Manchester United players follow Cristiano Ronaldo's example and skip the sweet treats

Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the English Premier League match against Newcastle United at Old Trafford. Photo / AP

Cristiano Ronaldo is already forcing a change of eating habits at Manchester United, after his team-mates resisted temptation to tuck into a sweet dessert the night before the Newcastle game.

The Portugal forward's obsessive approach to living a healthy lifestyle has been cited as one of the factors behind his remarkable longevity and why he remains one of the world's best players at 36.

United's squad stayed at the Hyatt Hotel in Manchester on Friday night and at dinner the dessert selection included apple crumble and custard and chocolate brownies with cream.

But United's reserve goalkeeper Lee Grant has revealed that none of the players dared touch such sweet delights - and some even wanted to know what Ronaldo was eating before making their own selections.

"So, you finish your dinner and usually on a Friday night you've got some cheat stuff," Grant told TalkSport.

Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo attends a training session at the Wankdorf stadium in Bern, Switzerland. Photo / AP

"You've got some apple crumble and custard, or you've got a bit of brownie and cream or whatnot. Not one player touched the apple crumble and custard, not one player went up for that brownie. One of the lads said to me, 'What has Cristiano got on his plate?' So we were having a goosey gander at what he has got, and obviously it is the cleanest, most healthy plate you can imagine."

The picture was somewhat different during United's summer training camp in St Andrew's when only five of 24 players passed on the chance to have a rich dessert, including creme brulee, sticky toffee pudding, caramel and biscoff tart and cheesecake, during a team bonding dinner.

Grant offered a glimpse of Ronaldo's choice of food at the pre-match meal before his two-goal showing in United's 4-1 win. Asked to elaborate on what was on Ronaldo's plate, Grant said: "I'll tell you one of his plates - he had several. One of them was quinoa, avocado and a couple of boiled eggs. This guy is in incredible shape."

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, the United manager, insisted his players all recognised the value of a healthy diet before Ronaldo arrived, but admitted the five-time World Player of the Year would provide a daily example.

"That's obviously a joke by Granty, it's not like we're linked with junk food and Cristiano changed it all," Solskjaer said.

"But he's proven over the years how to look after yourself, and he'll be an example for many players about how to look after yourself."

- The Daily Telegraph