RISEOFRONALDO 27Istheballstilla toy? Or has
itbecomea workingtool?
No– it’s still a toy!
Itisclearthatyou areveryclose
toyourfamily. Howmuchof your
success as afootballerisdown
totheir support?
I’vehad supportfrommywholefamily.
Ifmyfamilyhadn’tsupported me when
I wenttoLisbonattheageof 11 thenI
wouldn’t nowbeCristianoRonaldothe
professionalfootballer. My mumgave
methatopportunity.Myfatherandmy
sister said if youwantthisopportunityto
improveyourlife,tryit.Maybeanother
familywouldhavesaid:“No,stayhere,
you’reyoung,you have to stayhere
withyourbrothers,withus”.It’squite
a difficultsituation.I have to saymy
familygaveme alltheirsupport,they’ve
helpedmea lot, in goodtimesand bad
times.That’swhyI’mhere now.
Doyouneedtohavea mental
strengthtocopewithlifeas
a professionalfootballer?
You have to be strongmentally. When
I arrivedinLisbon,for thefirst yearI
criedeveryweek,butthat’swhyI say
myfamilyhelpedmea lot. Peoplefrom
Sporting, my friends,directors,everyone
helpedme.I’malwaysfocusedon doing
wellinlifeandmanypeoplehavehelped
meandthat’swhy I’mwhereI am today.
Islifeeasierorharderplayingfor
a clublikeManchesterUnited?
Well,it’s alwaysgoodtoplaywith great
players.Manchester hasa lotofgreat
players.Tobehonest,Ithinkyoujust
trytodoyourbest to helpManchester.
Forme everyseasonis a new challenge.
FiveyearsagoI arrivedinManchester
andIplayedwell.Thenthenext season
I playedbetter;the third seasonbetter
still.I’ve alwaystriedtoimproveevery
season.ThisseasonI will trytodothe
same.Itwillbe difficultbecauselast
seasonI scoredsomany goalsand
wona fewthings.Ifyouhavegood
playersaroundyouithelps.I thinkI
amwith therightclubatthemoment.
I play with therightplayers.Everything
isnatural.I wanttowinagain.
Did youkeepaneye on theGolden
Shoerankingslast season?
Atthestartofthe seasonI wasn’t
thinkingaboutit.Myfocuswasn’tjust
toscoregoals.I lookedtohelpmyteam
first,towinthings. If thegoalscame,
thengreat.But whenI startedscoring,
thegoalskeptcoming,sointhe middle
ofthe seasonI startedthinkingthat
thiswasagreat opportunitytowinthe
GoldenShoe.Thegoalskeptcoming,
thewinskeptcoming.Myteam-mates
helpeda lotbecausewithoutthemit
wouldhavebeenimpossible to score.But were youwatchingtheother
leading playersinthe competition
bytheendof theseason?
Yeah,ofcourse!I spenta lotoftime
watchingothergames.But I hada lead
overtheotherguys so Iwasquite
relaxedduringthelastfewgames.You’relikea rock star these
days. Does famebotheryou?
I neverthinkaboutit.Overthelast
three yearsmylife haschangeda lot.
Allovertheworldpeopleknow me,they
recogniseme.Oneaspectisgood,it’s
nice. Butsomeaspectsarenot so good.Peoplewatch everythingyou do.You
havetostayonyourguard allthetime.
It’squite difficultbecauseofthat.But
I havetothinkaboutmycareer. This
isthe most importantthing forme.I
don’tcarewhatpeoplesay aboutthings
outsideoffootball.Thisdoesn’tmatter.
Aboutfootball,yesI care,becausethat
iswhatI love to do.Football is my career
andit’salwaysnicewhenpeoplesaynice
thingsaboutyoubut,to be honest,it’s
notdifficulttobefamous.Doyoueverseeyourself
starringinthemovies?
Ohyeah,wellmaybeinthe future!
[laughs]I havetalentsotherthan
justfootball!Peopledon’tknow
aboutthem,butI do!Dreams...Ronaldo
wants successwith
clubandcountryMANCHESTERUNITED