“Why withdraw? I will withdraw from the national team not when people think I should, but when I want to, when I feel I can no longer run, dribble, shoot, when I no longer have the strength. I still have it all, so I want to continue,” he said in an interview with Sky Sports.
Despite being the most international player ever (182 matches) and with the most goals (115) for a national team, the 36-year-old Portuguese forward assured that he still feels motivated to play for Portugal.
“I still feel motivated to make people happy, my family, and myself. That's the most important. I want to raise the bar even more. I like to play football and I feel good making people happy”, said the Portuguese international, who made his debut for the Portuguese team in 2003.
Cristiano Ronaldo added that he was “very happy” to have returned this season to Manchester United, from where he left in 2009 to then spend nine years at Real Madrid and three years at Juventus.
“I'm still adapting to everything, the technical team, the language, the football, the Premier League, the game system, the climate. English football is faster than any other league I've played in, the players are more honest, the referees don't call so many fouls. I played for six years in the Premier League, I have good memories, but this is a new chapter in my career and I'm still adapting,” he said.
Twelve years after leaving United, Ronaldo said that he continues with “the same will, the same mentality”, but admitted that he has changed as a player: “At that time, I was more of a winger, faster, dribbled more, now I'm more objective, I save my legs for the right moments, to kill a game.”
Ronaldo has six goals in the first eight games for Manchester United this season, the first two coming on his debut, in the 4-1 victory over Newcastle: “I was very nervous, I felt like a young man making my debut. It was a weird feeling, but it turned out to be a brilliant day. We won and I scored.”
“I'm here to help, with my experience, with my way of playing. I hope to win trophies. I'm here to help the club and the players. I love this club. That's why I came back. I didn't come back for a vacation. It will be difficult, but I believe it will be possible. This team has a lot of potential and great players”, he concluded.
There is lot more vintage football yet to come from the boots and nods of the supremely fit and speedy CR7.
By Dr.Cajetan Coelho from Other on 26 Oct 2021, 10:32