What happened when Cristiano Ronaldo tested himself against a professional sprinter at his ‘physical peak’

Cristiano Ronaldo once went against a Spanish Olympic sprinter to test how fast he actually is.

The five-time Ballon d'Or winner started his career as a winger full of tricks and explosive speed.

Ronaldo struck fear into the hearts of full-backs across Europe during his time at Manchester United and Real Madrid.

Later in his career, the Portugal icon shifted to a more central role to compensate for losing a yard of pace.

If you want to know just how quick Ronaldo was in his prime, take a look at him going toe to toe with Angel David Rodriguez.

Known as 'El Pajaro' (The Bird), Rodriguez has captained Spain at several sprinting events.

He faced off against Ronaldo as part of a 2011 series titled 'Ronaldo: Tested to the Limit'. Ronaldo was 26-years-old at the time.

The duo competed in a 100 metre dash, with Rodriguez revealing he managed to beat the current Al Nassr star.

He said: "I took three tenths from him [Ronaldo], which is quite a lot. If it was 100 metres, he may be able to get 11.60 [seconds]."

Going off Rodriguez's claims, that'd mean Ronaldo's top speed is two seconds off Usain Bolt's world record time of 9.58 seconds.

Ronaldo did manage to beat Rodriguez in a diagonal race, although that requires a different skillset.

Rodriguez later told 'At Home With Athletes': "I was doing a report on race technique with Cristiano Ronaldo.

"You had to run in various styles to demonstrate differences in race technique between a sprinter and a footballer.

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"He is fast and very good at lateral movements. He clearly trains a lot."

Ronaldo is now 38-years-old but still a physical marvel. He's scored 16 goals in 17 games for Al Nassr, who sit second in the Saudi Pro League.

They return to action against Al Akhdoud on Friday evening.