Ronaldo, Sachin, Tiger and other sports stars and their bizarre rituals - in pictures

Some of the these habits are off the scale

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  Cristiano Ronaldo always sits in the back row of the team bus, and on a plane, it's the front row. He always steps on to the football field with his right foot first. @cristiano / Twitter

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  India captain Virat Kohli wears black wristbands and never forgets to his kada bangle. Getty

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  The fastest man on earth was not only known for his victory pose but also for pointing to the sky before each race, and talking to other competitors to distract himself: “The first time I think about the race is when I hear ‘On your marks'." Getty

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  Tennis great Rafael Nadal never steps on the lines before or after any point. He also makes sure that his right foot goes over the line before his left foot. EPA

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  England rugby World Cup winner Jonny Wilkinson would always wear the same T-shirt under his shirt before a game for good luck. He would also never wear his match shirt during the warm up. Getty

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  Tiger Woods follows a number of rituals, as well as wearing a red shirt during the final round of a tournament. Three tees in the right pocket, yardage book in the right back pocket, pin sheet in the front left pocket. He also always marks his ball with a quarter from 1932, because that's the year his dad was born. Reuters

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  Cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar would always put on his left pad first. Getty

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  Manchester United's English defender Phil Jones had a bizarre sock superstition. "This sounds really stupid, but it depends on whether we're home or away," he said. "The fixtures list United on the left side when we're at home and on the right when we're away. So this weekend, I'll put my right sock on first, because it will be Swansea v United." AFP

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  Former Chelsea and England captain John Terry admitted to The Mirror that he had "around 50" superstitions that he had to observe before a match. Before a game he would listen to the same Usher CD in the car, park in the same spot, sit on the same seat on the team bus, tie the tapes round his socks three times and cut the tubular grip for his shin-pads exactly the same length. Terry even used the same pair of ‘lucky’ shin pads for 10 years before losing them at an away game in Barcelona. PA

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  Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp turns his back when Liverpool have a penalty. PA

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  Sri Lanka pace bowler Lasith Malinga kisses the ball every time he runs up to bowl. AP

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  India batsman Virender Sehwag refused to have a number on his jersey. Getty

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  Tennis great Serena Williams has followed a number of superstitions during her outstanding career, including bringing her shower sandals to the court, tying her shoelaces in a certain way, bouncing the ball five times before her first serve and twice before her second, and crossing the net on the opposite side to the chair umpire after the first game. She'll even keep wearing the same unwashed socks through a tournament. AFP

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  Indian batsman Yuvraj Singh was born on December 12, and the left-handed batsman chose to wear a No 12 jersey whenever he represented his country. Getty

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  Aston Villa goalkeeper Pepe Reina's many rituals start the evening before a match when he eats two ham and cheese toasties. PA

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  Swimmer Michael Phelps would always performs three arm swings on the starting block before every race, wrapping his 6'7" wingspan around him for a #MPBackslap. Getty

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  Former Australia batsman Michael Clarke used to listen to loud music prior to any match, believing it helped his concentration. Getty

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  Basketball star LeBron James is known to have secret handshakes with each individual player on his team. Getty

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  Football legend Johan Cruyff would spit his chewing gum into the opposition half. “It’s odd I know, but it seems to work for me,” he claimed. Allsport

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  World recod breaking runner Paula Radcliffe: "I've always used the same lucky safety pins for my race number and I always wear the same jewellery. I also wear the same kit. If a race goes well, I'll wear it again. If it goes badly, I chuck it out and try another."

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  During his entire basketball career, Michael Jordan wore his North Carolina practice shorts under his NBA kit, meaning he had to wear longer Chicago Bulls shorts to cover them up. AFP

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  Swedish tennis legend Bjorn Borg would always grow his beard before Wimbledon fortnight and also wore the same Fila shirt throughout the competition. Getty

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  Former basketball star Shaquille O'Neal would never do the same thing twice after missing a free throw. So after a miss he’d change his footing, change the way he held the ball, or change the way he released his shot. He would also chew on four pieces of gum before each game and then place it underneath his seat on the bench. Getty

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  England rugby star Joe Cokanasiga would run out and touch every pole before the warm-up, "I have to touch all four corner flags,” he said. Getty

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  India cricket star MS Dhoni insisted on wearing No 7, having been born on the seventh day of the seventh month. Getty

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  Former Australia captain Steve Waugh kept a red rag in his pocket. Waugh once described it as his "security blanket". AFP

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  Former France defender Laurent Blanc would always kiss goalkeeper Fabien Barthez on the head before games. AFP

Sports stars can be a funny lot with their routines and superstitions.

You would think their outstanding talent and willingness to work at maximum capacity would be enough to see them through their careers.

But no, they also have a whole list of pre-match customs and rituals they like to carry out to convince themselves they are at the top of their games.

Cricket legends Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli, tennis superstar Serena Williams, footballer Cristiano Ronaldo and athlete Usain Bolt are among those who have relied on sometimes bizarre behaviour.

The gallery above gives some of the more bizarre behaviours. To see the next image, just swipe, or click on the arrows if using a computer.