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CRISTIANO RONALDO

‘I’m not obsessed with Ballon d’Or’: Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo has insisted he is not obsessed with winning the Ballon d’Or for a second time in January despite a series of scintillating performances that have made him the strong favourite to win the award.

Published: 22 November 2013 11:43 CET
'I'm not obsessed with Ballon d'Or': Ronaldo
“I don’t think a lot about the Ballon d’Or. I know that it is handed out in January, but I cannot say that I will not go,” Cristian told Spanish radio station COPE. Photo: Javier Soriano/AFP

Ronaldo scored his fifth hat-trick of the season for club and country against Sweden in midweek to ensure Portugal will travel to next year’s World Cup in Brazil and take his tally for the campaign to 31 goals in just 21 appearances.

FIFA’s decision to extend the date for votes to be cast for the award from November 15 to November 29 is also expected to weigh heavily in Ronaldo’s favour with Barcelona’s Lionel Messi, winner of the award for the past four years, sidelined until the end of the year with a hamstring injury.And the former Manchester United man, who was previously crowned World Player of the Year in 2008, refused to confirm rumours that he was considering not even attending the awards ceremony after reacting angrily to comments FIFA president Sepp Blatter made recently about his demeanour on the field.

“I don’t think a lot about the Ballon d’Or. I know that it is handed out in January, but I cannot say that I will not go,” he told Spanish radio station COPE.

“I prefer to not say anything because things don’t depend solely on me. I am not obsessed with the Ballon d’Or. We will see what happens.”

However, worryingly for Madrid’s rivals, Ronaldo insisted he is focusing on continuing to improve his staggering return of 225 goals in 216 games since joining the club over four years ago.

“In my head I always think I can improve. My ambition is always to be better. Perhaps you reach a level that is hard to beat, but I always think I can improve in everything.

“The best thing is that, right now, I am better prepared and you could say that I am in one of the best moments of my career. I have demonstrated a very high and good level and I hope to maintain that for the rest of my career.”

And, having recently signed a new deal with the Spanish giants tying him to the club until 2018, the 28-year-old reiterated his desire to retire as a Madrid player.

“I don’t think a lot about the future. I prefer to think more about the present. When the present is good, when you are happy and motivated to do things well then you are less worried about the future.

“But truthfully, right now, I feel like I want to end my career here because I feel very happy .I love living in Madrid, I love playing for the best club in the world and I can’t ask for more.”

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JUVENTUS

Ronaldo set to begin Italian adventure in intimate alpine friendly

Juventus fans will get their first glimpse of superstar summer signing Cristiano Ronaldo in rarified surroundings on Sunday, when he makes his debut for the Italian champions at the foot of the Alps a week before the start of the new Serie A season.

Published: 12 August 2018 10:15 CEST
Ronaldo set to begin Italian adventure in intimate alpine friendly
Juventus fans celebrate Cristiano Ronaldo's arrival in July. Photo: AFP

Ronaldo, who signed for Juventus from European champions Real Madrid in a shock 100 million euro deal exactly a month ago, will wear the Juventus kit for the first time in the club's traditional pre-season friendly

between Juve's first XI and a “B” team in Villar Perosa, a small town 40 kilometres west of Turin.

Set in a valley at the foot of the Italian Alps, Villar Perosa (population: roughly 4,100) is the home of the family estate and summer retreat of the powerful Agnellis, who, apart from a brief period around the Second World War, have run Juventus since 1923 and established the traditional alpine curtain raiser.

Members of the industrial dynasty — founders of Fiat car manufacturers and often called the “Italian Kennedys” — have lived at “The Castle” in Villar Perosa since the 19th century, while deceased former club chairman Gianni Agnelli was town mayor between 1945 and 1980.

Used to imposing arenas such as the Old Trafford and the Bernabeu, current Ballon d'Or holder Ronaldo will take his first steps in black and white stripes at the town's compact ground, named after notoriously brutal Italy centre-back Gaetano Scirea.

There should be more fans at the match than the entire population of Villar Perosa, with the 5,000 tickets available long-since sold out and even more supporters desperate to try and catch a glimpse of their new idol.

Such is the enthusiasm for Ronaldo's debut, special security measures were drafted in the town for the match, including a complete ban on the sale of alcohol from Saturday.

Ronaldo's arrival had sparked rumours that the match would be moved to the Allianz Stadium, but the club decided to stick with the traditional bucolic setting.

That could mean Ronaldo gets even more up close and personal with Juve fans.

Established custom dictates that five minutes after half-time fans invade the pitch, bringing the game to a halt as fans charge after and greet their heroes.

Ronaldo joined the team for training on Wednesday after their return from the International Champions Cup in the United States.

His domestic form last season — despite scoring 26 goals in La Liga — was below the almost superhuman levels that had characterised his time in Spain as Madrid finished third behind local rivals Atletico and a whole 17 points behind champions Barcelona.

Juventus, though, have signed Ronaldo not to cement their domestic dominance, after winning seven straight league titles, but to boost their international profile and bag their first Champions League triumph in over two decades.

In 2017/18, Ronaldo was his usual dominant self in Europe as he smashed 15 goals to top the Champions League scoring charts and fired Real Madrid to continental glory for the third straight year.

Interest in Juve and in Italian football has spiked following Ronaldo's arrival. July visits to the club museum shot up 15 percent compared to last year, and were nearly a third more than in 2016, and the over 29,000 season tickets available to fans have been sold despite a deeply unpopular 30 percent price bump announced before Ronaldo's arrival.

READ ALSO: 'I want to show I'm not like others': Ronaldo gives first official speech after arriving in Turin