Copyright GIVEMESPORT
Cristiano Ronaldo is, without a doubt, one of the best footballers to ever live – and, across stints with Real Madrid, Juventus and Manchester United, the Portuguese talisman has played alongside all manner of brilliant teammates. The best of Wayne Rooney at Old Trafford and Karim Benzema and Sergio Ramos in the Spanish capital are among those who spring to mind. But not every teammate of Ronaldo's has been a world-beating footballer. That is the curious case of Cendrim Kameraj – a former youth international for both Kosovo and Switzerland – who was on the books of Juventus between 2017 and 2019 and thus shared the dressing room with the five-time Ballon d'Or winner. That is something only a select few can claim, but his footballing career didn't pan out exactly how he wished it to. In early 2025, he made the decision to call it quits and hang up his boots from professional playing days as injuries – consisting of three torn cruciate ligaments – began to take their toll. If those of an Allianz Arena remember rightly, however, there was once a time when breaking into Juventus' first team proceedings was on the cards. But now a far cry from rubbing shoulders with the likes of Ronaldo, Gonzalo Higuain, Paulo Dybala, Kameraj has taken on a completely different post-football career. Cendrim Kameraj, Former Teammate of Cristiano Ronaldo, Now Working For Construction Firm A promising footballer in his younger days, Kameraj last turned out for Kosovian Superleague side KF Dukagjini – but he made just 17 league appearances for the club over a three-season stint and, unfortunately, it was time to find another passion for the former teammate of Ronaldo's. In the infancy of his playing days, he even scored twice for Swizerland U16s in a 3-2 win over England in the UEFA Development Tournament at St George's Park in 2015. As mentioned, however, things went south for the full-back, and he was forced into an early retirement. Now, months on, the 26-year-old has found his calling by working for a construction firm called ICM Bau AG and, as part of his remit at work, he is involved in visiting an array of sites. A picture he shared of himself on one of his trips has certainly caught the attention of football fans. Kameraj went viral after posting a TikTok of himself posing for a photo with Ronaldo with both players in Juventus training gear; the next picture was of him on his own, on location in construction, with a hard hat on. The caption read: "Life changes sometimes." At the time of writing, it has been viewed over 12 million times and has 1.5 million likes – and amid his wild change of career, which were caused by a raft of injuries, he spoke to Italian reporter Gianluca Di Marzio to spill all about his recent social media post. He said: "I work in an office at ICM Bau, and our boss wanted us to spend a day on the construction site to understand what the work is like there and how hard it can be. It made us appreciate even more how lucky we are to work behind a desk." Kameraj also recalled the influence of Ronaldo and how that has exactly made him become a better person. "It was surreal, something special, his energy pushed everyone to give more," he said. "What struck me most was his mentality. He never stopped, and he constantly demanded more from himself and those around him. "He once told me, Talent means nothing without consistency and hard work,' and that phrase stuck with me," he said about Ronaldo's influence in and around the dressing room before talking about his preparation. "Watching how he prepared showed me what it really means to be a professional." GIVEMESPORT Key Statistic: In 134 appearances for Juventus, Cristiano Ronaldo plundered 129 goal contributions – 101 goals and 28 assists. Returning to professional football is not a million miles away for Kameraj, who is under the assumption that playing at an elite level was probable if injuries hadn't struck him so hard. "It was heartbreaking [deciding to retire]. Football had been my identity since I was a child, for a long time I didn't know who I was without it. "But with time, I found peace, I understood that life doesn't end when your sports career ends. Without the injuries, I could have reached the top, I was on the right path and I felt like I was improving season after season. However, I don't like living with 'what ifs', I gave everything that I had, and that's what matters." Although the former defender wishes to return to working in professional football, he is yet to narrow down in which capacity. A career associated with the beautiful game is the dream of many – and, at 26 years old, Kameraj is yet to let go of those aspirations. According to a report by The Sun, Kameraj is not willing to leave football fully behind just yet as he has started coaching a youth club. That said, in his interview with Di Marzio, he expressed his desire to be in a full-time coaching role in the future by saying: "I keep dreaming, maybe one day I'll return to football in another role. Perhaps coaching young players and helping them avoid the mistakes I made." Either way, Kameraj is keen to live a happy life given the ups and downs that have already been thrown his way by being weighed down by injury issues. "But even outside of football, I just want to build a good life, be happy and stay true to myself," he concluded.
