The tableau made you think of Manchester United’s previous No 7. Cristiano
Ronaldo, wearing that favourite shade of David Beckham, messiah-white, sat,
chest-puffed, twinkling with bling, deep in a forest of microphones. He
appeared to regard the crowd of journalists not as his duty but his due. He
teased when questioned about Real Madrid’s latest manoeuvres towards signing
him, repeating he was “very happy” at United, but in the same breath adding:
“The future? You never know.” Then he eyed his subjects and announced to the
throng: “I know I’m the best.”
At the same time, you could not help notice his legs. He wore shorts and no
socks. You could see the scars which streak his joints, and that his shins
are gnarled by welts and bumps. It was a reminder, for all Ronaldo’s
egotism, of the sacrifice he makes for his craft, for his team and for the
public he entertains. There are two sides to this superstar, one to embrace,
one to keep at arm’s length, and what he does in Moscow may go a long way to
shaping how he is perceived. The stats make Ronaldo’s prowess impossible to
deny, but for those supporters who boo him at away grounds, only on a mental
level. A big show in a European Cup final is the stuff which unlocks the
football public’s hearts.
In 2002, Zinedine Zidane ensured no neutral would down-grade him again as he
scored a magisterial goal for Real Madrid to defeat Bayer Leverkusen and
claim the trophy. Kaka acquired and then confirmed world player of the year
status with his displays in the 2005 and 2007 finals. George Best, to whom
Ronaldo is most often compared, chose the 1968 showpiece as the setting for
his career-defining performance. Can Ronaldo take the same step in the
Luzhniki sta-dium? What about the regular criticism that he fails to shine
in the biggest games? “I scored two times against Arsenal. I scored against
Liverpool. The only team I haven’t scored against is Chelsea. I score
against every team in England,” the Portuguese sniffed. “I’m very, very,
very happy about my season. I scored 31 goals in the Premier League, I won
every award and I don’t need to show anything to anyone. It [criticism]
doesn’t make me angry because I know I’m the best. It makes me laugh, to be
honest.”
This may be true but Ronaldo has an insecure aspect and places value on being
appreciated. It is recognised by Sir Alex Ferguson. A colleague of Ronaldo’s
tells how, if he has not scored or done the spectacular, he will brood in
the dressing room. Ferguson or a member of his staff will sit with him and
say, ‘You did really well today, tactically’ or ‘You put in a great shift
for the team’ and only then will that chest puff again. “Yes, if I play good
against Chelsea I have more chance to win the individual awards,” Ronaldo
said, acknowledging what Wednesday can do for his standing, those awards
being the World and European Footballer of the Year - crowns he has not yet
claimed. “But to be honest I’m not thinking too much about that. I have
never won the Champions League and that’s what I am very excited about.”
He has scored 41 times in 48 appearances this season, obliterating Best’s
record for the most goals scored in a season by a nonstriker for United. But
no opposing team ever bettered Best. Ronaldo must master Chelsea, against
whom his scoreless sequence encompasses nine starts and two substitute
appearances. In last year’s FA Cup final Ronaldo was especially subdued but
both he and Ferguson dismiss that Chelsea victory. “There was nothing in the
game,” said Ferguson. Ronaldo said: “The Champions League is different to
the FA Cup. It’s a different style to the game. It’s a different stadium,
a different atmosphere - everything is different. Most of the players have
never played in a Champions League final and the team is very motivated. The
motivation is higher because we won the Premier League.
“Manchester United and Chelsea, I think, are the best teams in Europe at the
moment and it is a difficult game because Chelsea are playing well and they
are a strong and experienced team. But we have a good team, too, a good
spirit ... and I think we have a great chance.”
Scoring against Chelsea has been difficult because of how Ronaldo gets his
goals. He relies upon movement, upon timing a burst to arrive from the flank
into a position from where he can convert, but the tightest defences are the
least susceptible to being penetrated by off-the-ball running. Chelsea’s has
the extra protection provided by the still-peerless Claude Makelele and
features two players, Ricardo Carvalho and Paulo Ferreira, intimately
acquainted with Ronaldo’s game through facing him in training sessions with
the Portuguese national team. And Chelsea’s strategies were laid down by a
nemesis of Ronaldo’s, Jose Mourinho. “Mourinho will be watching the final,”
Ronaldo shrugged, “but so will the whole world.”
Then came his seemingly wilful ambiguity regarding the interest from Real
Madrid. “Well, I speak about my new season after the Champions League.
Everyone knows I’m very happy at the club. I think I’m at the right club.
But the future? You never know. But I want to stay here,” Ronaldo said.
Speak about my new season after the Champions League final? Did that mean
there is something about his future to be announced or decided? Given
Ronaldo signed a new five-year contract with United last season, what could
possibly be in doubt? “I’m very happy here in the club,” said Ronaldo. “The
people have been fantastic with me. The boss [Ferguson] is the reason I’m
here in the club. He helped me a lot, not just this season but in all my
seasons. I feel very good in the club and I want to carry on like that.
“I have many friends here. I’ve been five years in the club. I know everyone,
the players, the staff, and I think that this is my home ... but ... I
dunno.”
Ronaldo’s contract pays him £120,000 a week but he has risen to new levels
since signing it and it may be that his dual message - “I’m happy but I’m
uncertain” - is designed to prompt the offer of an even bigger one, which
United are understood to be considering and Ronaldo’s agent, Jorge Mendes,
is thought to be seeking. Real hope to take advantage of the player’s
long-held ambition to one day play in Spain. Ronaldo described the Premier
League, however, as “the best football in the world” and disagreed with the
notion that, should he win the Champions League, there would be no targets
left for him to aim for while at United. “I think I’m learning all the
time,” he said, “not just because I scored 41 goals this season and I played
very good - in my opinion. I think I have more things to learn and I think I
play with the right players and at the right club to make me an experienced
player. I want to achieve more, to win more titles, more awards.
“This season the lads said ‘Ah, you can never do it like last season and score
23 goals’. Now I have 41. Well, next season I don’t know what I’m going to
do. If I don’t score 20 or 30 the people will maybe start to criticise me
but I’m ready for that. I want to prepare very good for my next season. I
want to improve and do my best every time.”
It is difficult to compute the size of a bid Real could lodge to make United
even consider selling a superstar who is only 23. It would have to be well
in excess of the world record £46m the Madrileños paid in 2001 for Zidane.
Ferguson dismissed the idea he could lose his talisman as generated by a
speculative press in Spain, manipulated by Real. “It’s nonsense. Believe me.
But don’t expect Real Madrid to go away. They’re not going to just fold up
their tent and carry it off,” he said. “They’ve done these things ever since
I can remember. Their new press secretary is the former editor of [Madrid-based
Spanish sports newspaper] Marca.”
Ferguson presented the final as an occasion for history-makers. “I think, for
any manager, this is the biggest game. This is a tournament that elevates
your status as footballers and as a team. I’ve made the point that I feel
United should have won it many more times: this is an opportunity to add to
what we’ve won. And this team could catch up others. Real Madrid’s nine
titles are amazing and will be hard to catch in my lifetime and so will AC
Milan’s seven. But Liverpool have five, Bayern Munich and Ajax four, and it
should be possible to catch them.” There is nobody better than Ferguson at
fostering ambition. On Wednesday he will use his favourite line for spurring
Ronaldo: “Well, Ronny, do you want to be the best footballer in the world?”
Cristiano Ronaldo: evolution of a superstar
- 2003-04: 24 starts, 16 sub appearances, 6 goals Shows amazing
technique but is often selfish in possession
- 2004-05: 40 starts, 10 sub appearances, 9 goals Criticised for
diving. Begins his partnership with Wayne Rooney
- 2005-06: 37 starts, 10 sub appearances, 12 goals Ronaldo becomes
effective. Scores in the Carling Cup final
- 2006-07: 49 starts, 4 sub appearances, 23 goals Ronaldo wins bet
with Ferguson by scoring more than 20 goals in the season. Wins PFA and
Football Writers’ player awards
- 2007-08: 45 starts, 3 sub appearances, 41 goals The star becomes a
supernova. Ronaldo scores two or more goals 11 times, and retains his two
player-of-the-year trophies
