Footballers and their incredible physiques
Jack Grealish has had Christmas calendars made about his calves, Adama Traore has turned from a skinny winger into a powerhouse, while Cristiano Ronaldo is still in fantastic shape at 38… the most impressive physiques in football
- Robert Lewandowski impressed supporters with his ‘ripped’ physique in training
- Players like Cristiano Ronaldo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic are in fantastic shape
- Mail Sport takes a look at some players with the most impressive physiques
Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski amazed supporters this week after the LaLiga giants posted a photo of the Poland star showing off his ‘ripped’ physique.
The Catalan club tweeted a shocked face with the captain ‘beast mode’ to accompany the picture of the forward.
In doing so Lewandowski has become the latest player to amaze supporters thanks to their incredible physiques.
Cristiano Ronaldo arguably has the most famous body in all of football and is still in fantastic shape at 38-years-old.
Mail Sport takes a look at Ronaldo, Lewandowski and other players who have among the most impressive physiques in football.
Al-Nassr star Cristiano Ronaldo is still at the peak of his physical condition at 38-years-old
Jack Grealish
The Manchester City star’s calves have become so famous that Christmas calendars have been dedicated to the England international’s leg muscles.
Grealish’s legs have scores of social media pages dedicated to them. One account on Instagram, ‘jackgrealishscalves’, said the page was created to admire ‘the best calves in the game’ and features 54 images dedicated to the lower half of his legs.
Another fan page on Instagram – titled ‘jack_grealishs_legs’ features an account bio which reads: ‘Is there anything more aesthetically pleasing in life than that of the legs of Jack Grealish? I don’t think so.’
As reported by Mail Sport in April 2022, when asked about his calves he said: ‘I actually don’t do anything.
‘It’s just something that runs in the family. My grandad always had big calves when he used to play football.’
Jack Grealish’s calf definition has led to Christmas calendars being made about his legs
Adama Traore
The Wolves winger famously has had a massive body transformation since he left Barcelona as a skinny 19-year-old in 2015.
Traore possesses the frightening combination as one of the quickest and strongest players in the game.
He has become a menace for defenders in recent years, and they have found it even more difficult to defend against him due to the fact he puts baby oil on his arms just so they can’t grab him in an attempt to slow the 27-year-old down.
The most surprising part behind his incredible muscles, is that he doesn’t even do weight work.
He revealed in 2020: ‘My genetics are like that and it makes my muscles grow very fast. I do other exercises. Each person has to adapt what suits him best.
‘I do a lot of core. The secret is to know your body and adapt the training to your physical condition. I have gained in muscles with training, rest and food. Food is essential and I consider it a very important part of training.
‘Water – although I don’t drink much in matches – is vital. Maintaining the water level in the body is essential for an athlete.
‘I try to vary the amount of dishes and have a varied, healthy and balanced diet. I can eat a little paella as well as a typical Malian dish with peanut sauce and brown rice.
‘Everything is done by my mother, who is the best cook in the world. Then, like all athletes, I also throw in a lot of Italian pasta.’
Adama Traore has perhaps had the biggest body transformation out of anyone in football
Traore has transformed from a skinny winger (pictured at Aston Villa in 2015) to one of the strongest and fastest players in football
Mohamed Salah
You can tell when the Liverpool’s Egyptian king is particularly happy with what he’s done on the pitch when he celebrates a goal by showing off his incredible physique.
Salah has scored an incredible 182 goals since joining the Reds in 2017, but arguably his most iconic celebration came after he raced away to score in their 2-0 victory over Manchester United in January 2020.
He broke away on the counter attack in stoppage time to score the deciding goal, and then ripped off his shirt showing off his impressive muscles in a result which gave Liverpool fans massive confidence that they were about to end their long wait to win the title.
Salah has also showed off his incredible physique in pictures on Instagram where he is either enjoying his time off or hard at work in training.
The Egyptian has received some banter from his team mates over his pictures.
As per the Liverpool Echo, former Liverpool player Dejan Lovren revealed last year that Salah called the Croatian who had commented on one of his topless pictures: ‘Photoshop 100%’.
Liverpool star Mo Salah is currently one of the most ripped players in the Premier League
Cristiano Ronaldo
Perhaps the most famous physique in all of football, arguably no player looks after their body more than the five-time Ballon d’Or winner.
Though the Portuguese star is now 38-years-old, he appears to have eternal youth and his methods to look after his body have helped him prolong his football career long past former players of a similar age.
Similar to Salah, he has celebrated many goals by taking his top off and flexing his muscles.
He also posts a massive array of photos on social media where he is showing off the fruits of his fitness regime whether it is by working out, relaxing in his sauna or preparing for recovery in his cryotherapy chamber.
As reported by Mail Sport in 2021, Ronaldo has six high-protein, high grain, low-fat mini meals a day, all recommended by a personal dietician.
He doesn’t drink alcohol – just water – and has no sugary drinks or snacks. He also likes to have five 90-minute naps a day.
Ronaldo also supplements his squad training sessions with a personal workout plan which has included five weekly trips to the gym, regular swims and Pilates.
Cristiano Ronaldo has arguably the most famous impressive physique out of anyone in football
Ronaldo has looked after himself during his career and is still at an impressive level at 38
Sergio Ramos
The Real Madrid legend is another player who clearly isn’t short of body confidence.
Ramos, similar to other players on this list, has had an incredible body transformation from the skinny centre-back who joined Real Madrid to the perennial winner he became later in his career.
In 2020, during the height of the Covid pandemic and initial lockdown, Ramos shared a picture of himself looking absolutely shredded.
The PSG defender claimed his time away from the pitch during lockdown helped him get into better shape.
In April 2020 – then at Real Madrid – Ramos said: ‘I think I’m in better shape than before the quarantine.
‘We gave so much importance to this situation that after losing our training routine in Valdebebas and also the games, we focused so much on our diet, our rest and obviously the individual work.
‘I’m in better condition now than I usually am during the middle of the season. Then you are playing once every three days and you don’t have time to work, you only rest.’
Sergio Ramos put in the work over the first lockdown during the Covid pandemic and showed off his incredible physique
Leon Goretzka
Another player who appeared to do the hard work during lockdown was Bayern Munich midfielder Leon Goretzka.
The German international looked a new player, with his club even posting a ‘before and after’ body transformation tweet, showing how much work he had been doing in the gym.
Goretzka has maintained his hard work and regularly shares photos showing off his incredible physique, in particular pictures which show off his back and abs.
The German midfielder was compared to Marvel superhero ‘the Hulk’ while another added that his ‘triceps are so immense his shirt can no longer contain them’ after his arms ripped through his shirt during a Champions League game in 2020.
Another joked: ‘Goretzka is hulking. Mans has a ripped shirt in the first 15 mins.’
Bayern Munich midfielder Leon Goretzka made drastic changes to his appearance during lockdown
Robert Lewandowski
Barcelona fans marvelled at their striker’s ‘ripped’ physique earlier this week after the LaLiga leaders posted a photo of the Poland star in training.
The Catalan club tweeted a shocked face with the captain ‘beast mode’ to accompany the picture of the forward.
Fans were quick to comment on Lewandowski’s physical condition, with noting his considerable arm and leg muscles.
‘Gracious God, see his muscle definition,’ one fan tweeted.
‘Let’s shoot some goals with those muscles,’ another posted. A third posted ‘Lewandowski is built different.’
Some fans also pointed to Lewandowski’s history at Bayern Munich, with the striker having joined Barcelona after eight years with the perennial German champions.
One supporter posted ‘Bayern need to release their gym programme’, in an apparent reference to Lewandowski’s former team-mate Goretzka.
Barcelona supporters were impressed by striker Robert Lewandowski’s physique this week
Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Injuries have finally started to limit the Swedish’s star’s game-time at 41, but he is still in incredible shape.
His incredible fitness during the latter years of his career has been down to his nutrition plan which has seen comparisons to Cristiano Ronaldo.
It’s been claimed that Zlatan has every single food item he eats weighed on a scale, with everything measured to the exact gram.
Common foods he eats are white meats, bresaola meat and fresh vegetables, while frozen foods, ice cream and even Italian pasta have been culled from Ibrahimovic’s diet.
Overall, his diet requires a great deal of carbohydrates, though he tends to get this intake from cereals rather than pasta – which is often a popular choice among footballers.
He has been sidelined for a lot of this season with a knee injury, but he showed off his chiselled physique in a series of topless shots for Italian label DSQUARED2 in October,
Ibrahimovic requires lots of carbohydrates, and he tends to get this intake from cereals
Gareth Bale
The Welshman might have retired from football but it would feel wrong not to include him on this list.
Before Grealish’s calves even gained notoriety, the former Tottenham and Real Madrid star probably had the most famous calves in football.
However, there was some concern among supporters on social media in February 2022 after they thought he appeared thinner with less muscle mass following his struggles with knee, calf and back problems last season.
However, the ex-Tottenham star addressed the picture in question by uploading another angle from the same session on Instagram.
Bale then drew a green arrow pointing at his now more bulging thigh muscle along with a crying-laughing emoji.
The Welshman suggested there is nothing wrong with his figure and he was simply photographed from an unflattering angle.
Gareth Bale was keen to point out he hadn’t lost any muscle definition in his legs after concern by supporters over training pictures last season when he was playing for Real Madrid
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