They might be kings of different sports after dominating the world of Tennis and football, winning titles for many years but they also share similar stories as Novak Djokovic has revealed about Cristiano Ronaldo in a recent interview, Softfootball reports.
Ronaldo had earlier in a recent interview confirmed that the 2026 FIFA World Cup will be his last. The 40-year-old has always been open about his poor upbringing where he had to queue at McDonalds to get free food during his early days at Sporting Lisbon.
This similarity is shared by Djokovic as he revealed during Piers Uncensored official podcast. He said:
Its interesting, I didn’t know about Cristiano’s experiences, waiting in line and literally being hungry. I had something similar. I could’ve been six or seven years old and we had two wars in the 90’s. The Yugoslavian breakout war and the bombing in 1990.
So, between the start of the 90’s – 91 when the war started and the end of the 90’s, we had an embargo, maybe four or five years or more. Obviously, nothing comes in or out of the country and the poverty levels were extremely high. We were waiting in line for a loaf of bread that us, a family of seven or eight were sharing. So, those life experiences were very real and that made my journey even more special, in the sense that I appreciate life and everything that God has granted me with.
The 38-year-old holds a record 24 Grand Slam singles titles, including 10 Australian Opens. Djokovic has been ranked world No. 1 for a record 428 weeks and considered one of the greatest tennis players of all time.
Cristiano Ronaldo believes that success is not an accident and Djokovic shares same mentality. Here is the video of Djokovic’s interview as shared by the Piers Uncensored official podcast.
Djokovic draws upon the similarities between his and @Cristiano's upbringings: 'We were waiting in line hungry for one loaf of bread.'
"That is probably the foundation of my mental strength and resilience."
Watch more 👇
📺 https://t.co/gCAjSqk5H2@piersmorgan | @DjokerNole pic.twitter.com/R4pLZ8AABJ
— Piers Morgan Uncensored (@PiersUncensored) November 11, 2025Djokovic is currently 5th in the world tennis rankings and in the twilight of his career but will be hoping to win one major grand slam title before retirement.
