Cristiano Ronaldo has rejected suggestions that a lack of team spirit has contributed to Real Madrid\u2019s slow start in La Liga \u2013 saying he took a similarly distant approach to squad friendships at Manchester United.<\/p>\n
Speaking before Madrid\u2019s Champions League first-leg match at Roma, Ronaldo was asked if his cool relationships with Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale had played a part in their apparent lack of on-pitch chemistry this season.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I was at Manchester winning the Champions League, with some players like [Ryan] Giggs, [Rio] Ferdinand and [Paul] Scholes our discussions were limited to \u2018Good morning\u2019 and \u2018Good night.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cBut when we were on the pitch together there was total understanding. I don\u2019t need to go out for dinner with Benzema or Bale. What counts is what happens on the pitch.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ronaldo is among the Spanish league\u2019s top scorers with 21 goals, and has scored 11 in the group phase of the Champions League \u2013 but he has been criticised for his inability to score away from home since November.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m used to it,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s like when you always give kids everything and then when you take something away they start to cry. I\u2019ve made the press and fans so used to me always scoring a lot of goals that as soon as I let up for a second, well the journalists don\u2019t cry but they begin writing all sorts of stuff.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet\u2019s just say that I would be happy to continue with this not-so-perfect form until the end of the season \u2026 If you can name one player who has scored more away goals than me since I arrived in Spain tell me who? No. There\u2019s nobody.\u201d Ronaldo then got up and walked out .<\/p>\n
Ferdinand later laughed off Ronaldo\u2019s comments on BT Sport, saying: \u201cHe\u2019s gone off me! He used to live next door to me. Unbelievable! I actually used to take the mick out of him in the changing rooms, I think he\u2019s got the hump. He used to come in in tight jeans and we used to murder him. He didn\u2019t get it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ferdinand said Ronaldo\u2019s spiky press conference performance \u201cjust shows the emotion he\u2019s got in him, and the desire to win \u2026 At the moment everyone\u2019s talking about Barcelona and he\u2019s not happy with that. And that\u2019s his competitive streak coming out.\u201d<\/p>\n
–<\/p>\n
Source: Guardian<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Cristiano Ronaldo has rejected suggestions that a lack of team spirit has contributed to Real Madrid\u2019s slow start in La Liga \u2013 saying he took a similarly distant approach to squad friendships at Manchester United. Speaking before Madrid\u2019s Champions League first-leg match at Roma, Ronaldo was asked if his cool relationships with Karim Benzema and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n