Peak performances in football begin years before kick-off.
From Kylian Mbappé, Lionel Messi to Erling Haaland, the sport’s biggest names follow ultra-disciplined routines to stay fit throughout the season.
We all can’t be football players, but let’s take a few health tips from 7 of the top soccer stars that dominated this World Cup season.
Photograph: Kai Pfaffenbach/Reuters
1. Kylian Mbappé
Goal.com outlines the French captain’s fitness formula: He begins training with stretching, followed by cycling or running to build endurance. His routine also includes mobility drills, core exercises and strength training to enhance speed, balance and power.
The 27 year old, who is of Cameroonian-Algerian extraction but grew up outside Paris, weight trains five days of the week. Some of the exercises that are on his must-do list — push-ups, pull-ups, bench presses, cable crossovers, cable push-downs, barbell rows etc.
His diet focuses on nutritious, bright-hued foods while keeping red meat and added sugar to a minimum — sugar-free porridge, eggs with avocado and almond butter, wraps filled with veggies, chicken/tuna, fresh and dried fruit, protein shakes. No alcohol.
Photograph: Kind courtesy Erling Harland/X
2. Erling Haaland
The colourful, 25-year-old Norwegian striker as would be expected has a groovy fitness/diet techniques — his is an ‘ancestral’ diet restricted to exactly 6k calories and six meals, says Forbes and Hola!
His no-nos are: Ultra processed food, stuff with sugar.
Food preferences: Eggs, sourdough bread, local honey, beef and other dense animal proteins including organ meat. Incidentally he likes Indian food.
His daily exercise routine prioritises recovery through stretching, mobility work, physiotherapy, red-light therapy, ice baths and regular sauna sessions to keep his body match-ready. He does yoga. Takes a morning walk and fits in 1,000 sit-ups and 300 press-ups every day, as per Spanish sports site as.com.
He hits the sack at 10 pm religiously, putting away all gadgets.
Photograph: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters/Maria Lysaker
3. Cristiano Ronaldo
The Portuguese superstar’s training routine is said to combines football practice with gym sessions, often twice a day.
His weekly programme includes technical drills, sprint work, strength training, dedicated recovery through stretching, mobility exercises, swimming, and walking, says Healthline.
His workout mix that is worth emulating. Remember, suggests Healthline, to always structure your exercise routine with strength training, sport-specific drills, mobility work, recovery and drills that relate to the sport you might play.
Ronaldo too believes in the six-meal day, each 3-4 hours apart, preferring complex carbs and lean meats and good fats, reports Hola! He drinks 5 litres of water per day.
Photograph: Carlos Barria/Reuters
4. Lionel Messi
His nutritionist, speaking to Mundo Deportivo, said the Argentine superstar’s diet is centred on simple, nutritious foods, including water, extra virgin olive oil, whole grains, fresh fruit, vegetables, while limiting added sugar — a lot of tips here for the health-conscious.
In a recent Instagram workout video, Messi highlighted a fitness routine focused on strength, speed, agility, mobility and flexibility.
His training also features short sprints and explosive drills to improve power and movement on the pitch.
Photograph: Brett Davis/Reuters
5. Harry Kane
According to Englandfootball.com and his Instagram handle, the English striker’s meals include rather balanced options — eggs, wholegrain bread, spinach, avocado, coconut yoghurt, berries, home-cooked granola, salmon, chicken, turkey, rice, whole-grain bread, honey, greens, grilled vegetables to support training and recovery.
As reported by Men’s Health in 2021, London-born Kane (who has Galway, Ireland ancestry) his workouts focus on hamstring, glute and single-leg exercises, alongside core training to improve speed, strength and stability.
Photograph: Jason Cairnduff/Reuters
6. Mohamed Salah
BBC says the Egyptian star often trains in the gym twice a day and uses ice baths to aid his recovery. He also includes yoga and Pilates for flexibility and to help reduce the risk of injury.
His diet is built around protein-rich meals and plenty of greens, featuring foods like eggs, avocado, oats, sweet potatoes, broccoli, almond milk and fresh fruit.
Photograph: Lisi Niesner/Reuters
7. Lamine Yamal
The eighteen-year-old, Barcelona-born Spanish right-winger, whose full name is Lamine Yamal Nasraoui Ebana and has Moroccan and Equatorial Guinean heritage, often bulks up by eating a stew from his mom’s country that consists of chicken, rice and peanut sauce or Gallina en Salsa de Cacahuete, according to beinsports.com.
He told Mundo Deportivo that he follows some of Lionel Messi’s diet ideas, opting for more fish and he is far more careful about his diet than he used to be.
Celeb Workout channel on YouTube says the secret to Yamal’s fitness is balance, equal emphasis is given speed, growth and strength and he rotates through the week the type of training he needs to do for his game.
One day it is lower body power (splits, squats, hamstrung curls, calf raises). The next day it is upper body workout (pull-ups, push ups etc).
Two days midweek are reserved for ball training with cycling and sprinting. The next day he will be back the legs but with sharper focus. And that is how his exercise week unfolds.