Was No Longer Indispensable at Madrid: Ronaldo on Juventus Move

Perez only ever looked at me as a business relationship. I know it. What he told me never came from heart: Ronaldo

File picture of Real Madrid president Florentino Perez and Cristiano Ronaldo.

(Photo: AP)

Star footballer Cristiano Ronaldo has finally revealed what made him break his nine-year association with Real Madrid.

Speaking to France Football magazine, Ronaldo said he decided to leave Real Madrid for Juventus after realising that the Spanish club’s president, Florentino Perez, no longer thought him to be “indispensable”.

“I felt it inside the club, especially from the president, that they no longer considered me the same way that they did in the start,” Ronaldo said.

In the first four or five years there, I had the feeling of being ‘Cristiano Ronaldo’. Less afterwards. The president looked at me through eyes that didn’t want to say the same thing, as if I was no longer indispensable to them, if you know what I mean.

Cristiano Ronaldo

‘I Was A Business Deal For Perez’

Ronaldo had spent nine years at Madrid, scoring 451 goals in 438 matches, and helping the team win four Champions Leagues titles.(Photo: AP)

In the interview, Ronaldo slammed Real Madrid president Florentino Perez for making him feel like that he was just a means of making money and was not wanted by the Spanish giants. The Portuguese star went onto say that Perez saw him only as a ‘business deal’.

He (Florentino Perez) only ever looked at me as a business relationship. I know it. What he told me never came from the heart.

Cristiano Ronaldo to France Football

Ronaldo made it clear by the time he decided to leave Madrid, it was evident to him that Perez won’t be going out of his way to stop him.

That’s what made me think about leaving. Sometimes I’d look at the news, where they were saying I was asking to leave. There was a bit of that, but the truth is that I always had the impression that the president would not hold me back.

Cristiano Ronaldo

‘Juventus Really Wanted Me’

Ronaldo joined Juventus from Real Madrid for a Serie A record 112 million euros (then $131.5 million).(Photo: AP)

Ronaldo joined Juventus from Real Madrid in the off-season for a Serie A record 112 million euros (then $131.5 million). He had spent nine years at Madrid, becoming the Spanish club's all-time leading scorer with 451 goals in 438 matches, and helping the team win four Champions Leagues titles.

If it had all been about money, I’d have moved to China, where I would have earned five times as much than here (at Juventus) or at Real. I did not come to Juve for the money. I earned the same in Madrid, if not more. The difference is that, at Juve, they really wanted me. They told me that and made it clear. They showed me that.

Cristiano Ronaldo

'Rape Allegation Impacting Personal Life’

Cristiano Ronaldo with his partner Georgina Rodriguez and four children.(Photo: Instagram/@cristiano)

The 33-year-old Ronaldo mentioned in the interview that the rape allegation was taking a toll on his personal life.

Of course this story is interfering in my life. I have a partner, four children, an aging mother, sisters, a brother, a family I’m very close to. Not to mention my reputation, which is of somebody who is exemplary.

Cristiano Ronaldo

Kathryn Mayorga filed a civil lawsuit last month in Nevada claiming Ronaldo raped her in his Las Vegas hotel room in 2009. Police also reopened an investigation at her request.

I explained everything to my partner. My son, Cristiano Jr., is too young to understand it. I feel the worst for my mother and sisters. They’re stunned by it all but, at the same time, very angry. This is the first time that I’ve seen them in this state.

Cristiano Ronaldo

"Imagine what it can represent when someone says you're a rapist, or that you have this or that," Ronaldo said.

"I know who I am and what I've done. The truth will come out in the light of day. And those people who criticize me or who expose my life today, who are turning it into a circus, those people will see,” the Juventus forward added.

‘Deserve the Ballon d’Or This Year’

Cristiano Ronaldo poses after receiving his fifth overall Ballon d’Or (Golden Ball) trophy last year in Paris.(Photo:AP)

Last month, Ronaldo finished second to Luka Modric for FIFA's best player award. The Ballon d'Or, a separate award for the world's best player which is given out by France Football, will be handed out on December 3 in Paris with Ronaldo among the candidates.

Yes, I think I deserve the Ballon d’Or this year. I dream of winning the Ballon d’Or for the sixth time and in that case I would surpass Lionel Messi.

Cristiano Ronaldo

"But I don't control the vote, just my performances," said Ronaldo.

(With inputs from AP)