Why does Cristiano Ronaldo paint his toenails? It's got nothing to do with appearances

In recent weeks, photos of Portuguese football icon, Cristiano Ronaldo have gone viral after they showed him with black painted toenails. Obviously, a lot of pundits were wondering why, so let's find out exactly what's going on with his peculiar pedicure.

This is one of the photos that clearly show Ronaldo's toenails are colored with black nail polish.

Photo: Instagram @cristiano

You can also n this shot with Francis Ngannou, an MMA world champion, that CR7 again has black painted nails.

Photo: Instagram @francisngannou

While Cristiano Ronaldo has never made any statements about his penchant for black nail polish, he's not the only athlete who does it and there seems to be a practical reason for it.

Photo: Instagram @francisngannou

According to the US monthly Mens Health, painting your nails black is a practice that is followed especially among MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) fighters. And no, it's not an aesthetic issue – it's actually more about health!

Painting your nails with a black polish can help prevent your nails from breaking or splitting during combat. It is, therefore, a completely functional choice.

In fact, during fights, athletes suffer many blows and kicks that can cause damage or breakage to the toenails. Applying a layer of nail polish can help protect your nails in these situations.

Men's Health cites the German magazine Bild, according to which this practice is also necessary and useful for preventing fungal infections of the toenails.

Photo by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

The humid environment inside football boots or trainers can promote the growth of fungi. Some athletes believe that applying black nail polish, which often contains antifungal agents, can help prevent fungal nail infections.

This is not the only cosmetic-turned-functional practice that athletes, especially football players, adopt to help them with performance. In the next slide, we reveal what the other common trick is.

Have you ever noticed that many athletes have smooth and shaved legs? There's a very good reason for this.

Photo by Keith Johnston from Pixabay

Many soccer players and athletes from other disciplines decide to shave their legs to prevent injuries: smooth skin can facilitate the application of plasters or bandages on any wounds or injuries, improving treatment and preventing possible infections.

Photo by Phillip Kofler from Pixabay

It also makes tearing off any bandages less painful and annoying. Players, therefore, also shave their legs to avoid this problem.

Photo by Alexander Fox | PlaNet Fox from Pixabay

On bresciatoday.it, dermatologist Domenico Piccolo explains the reason for this practice from a medical point of view: "Shaving in football has now become increasingly important because having shaved legs helps improve performance on the pitch."

"Footballers and more. Cyclists, tennis players or swimmers wearing close-fitting suits also have to deal with itching and sweating, while swimmers, forced to deal with the opposition of the water, need to reduce friction and ' glide' better," continues Dr. Piccolo.

It's not just footballers – athletes from a range of disciplines opt to go hairless. And many will do it for good, by getting laser hair removal treatment.

Ronaldo is also one of them. In fact, it is easy to see the five-time Ballon d'Or player with smooth, sculpted legs, both on and off the pitch.