Rafael van der Vaart reveals how Cristiano Ronaldo felt about his joke on never seeing Portugal captain’s d*ck while being at Real Madrid

Former Real Madrid star Rafael van der Vaart has revealed how legendary forward Cristiano Ronaldo reacted to his joke about the Portugal captain's private parts. The Dutchman then went on to call the five-time Ballon d'Or winner a 'phenomenon', claiming that he would be 'grumpy' if he failed to score in a game.

Ronaldo is widely considered to be one of the best players in football history. He has bagged an eye-watering 953 goals and 259 assists in 1297 appearances for club and country.

In 438 appearances for the Merengues across nine seasons (2009-2018), he became the club's all-time top goalscorer, racking up a whopping 450 goals. Many of his former teammates have testified to his incredible determination and hardwork, with Van der Vaart being the latest to do so.

The 42-year-old, who made 21 appearances for Los Blancos in the 2009-10 season, said (via Tribuna h/t Vandaag Inside):

"He was a phenomenon. If he didn't score, he'd be grumpy. When you train with him every day and see what he does… I didn't even do five percent of that."

Van der Vaart then went on to recall a joke that he made which did not sit well with Ronaldo. He said:

"I once joked that he's the only player whose d*ck I've never seen, because he always arrived first and left last. They didn't like that in Portugal, and neither did he."

Besides Real Madrid, Van der Vaart also made an impact for Tottenham, Ajax and the Netherlands before retiring in 2018.

"I would say myself" - When ex-Real Madrid star Rafael van der Vaart claimed that he had 'better technique' than Cristiano Ronaldo

Former Real Madrid star Rafael van der Vaart once claimed that he had 'better technique' than legendary forward Cristiano Ronaldo.

During an appearance on TalkSPORT, the Dutchman was asked to name the best players that he has played alongside. He promptly named the Portugal captain, saying (via GOAL):

"Of course, I have to mention Cristiano Ronaldo because I spent a year playing with him at Real Madrid."

Van der Vaart was then asked what attributes separated him from the Real Madrid legend. While the former asserted that he was more technically gifted, he admitted that the latter had an unparalleled mentality.

Van der Vaart said:

"If you ask me who had the better technique, me or him, I would say myself in terms of first touch and passing. But he was so fit and so focused on scoring goals and winning things. I just went on the pitch and when it was 3-3 or 4-4, I preferred that to a 1-0 win. His way of thinking is the biggest difference."

Although he is set to turn 41 in a few months, Ronaldo is still going strong with Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League. Having racked up 10 goals and two assists in 11 games this season, he will next be seen in action in Nassr's SPL clash against Al-Khaleej on Sunday (November 23).

Edited by Aaryan Nagraj