Ronaldo: Diving jibes cost me player award

CRISTIANO RONALDO has claimed that his reputation as a diver prevented him from winning the Young Player of the Tournament award at the World Cup last summer and for the first time has admitted that his Manchester United team-mate Wayne Rooney was right to be dismissed in Portugal’s controversial quarter-final win over England.

The Portuguese winger was vilified in England for his role in England’s defeat – after winking at his own bench following Rooney’s red card, he then stepped up and fired the winning penalty in the shoot-out beyond goalkeeper Paul Robinson.

Ronaldo was expected to leave for La Liga last summer but has stayed and is now favourite to win the Player of the Year award: he goes into this afternoon’s match at home to struggling Charlton as the Premier League’s joint-top scorer with 15 goals to his name and at the centre of a battle for his signature between Barcelona and Real Madrid.

And he has also claimed that the jeers he has received from opposing fans this season has spurred him to play even better.

“It’s because people think I am a diver that I lost the title of best young player in the World Cup,” Ronaldo told L’Equipe in an interview published today. “But it doesn’t bother me. The journalists should rather look at the number of kicks that I get in a game. But I like feeling the hostility of a crowd, it means they are afraid of me — and that I am a good player.”

The 22-year-old feels no guilt over his role in Rooney’s dismissal and claimed that the press invented a bust-up with his strike partner. “It didn’t take me long to realise that I didn’t do anything wrong,” he explained.

“After the game and his deserved sending-off, we saw each other. He came up to me and said, ‘Well done, Cristiano. You had a great game, you are a great team, and I wish you the best for the rest of the competition’.” Then we sent each other texts, just like mates. Our relationship is great. We are like brothers, we are the same age, and he also has a great talent.”

The pair have enjoyed a great partnership this season, sharing 25 of United’s 61 league goals between them. And Ronaldo has claimed that the World Cup – plus extra training under the tutelage of United coach Carlos Queiroz – has made him a much better player.

“The change in my game recently is down to a lot of work with Sir Alex and Carlos Queiroz on the training pitch, every day. And also time spent with the national team last summer. I would call it maturation, a normal improvement. I have become more of an adult and I have the chance to play in a team performing well at the moment.”

But the bad news for opposition defenders in England and in Europe – and the reason why Barcelona are said to be launching a big-money raid for him this summer – is that Ronaldo has warned there is more to come from him. “I just try to be relaxed, to stay natural and to improve and become a better footballer,” he added.

Meanwhile, Rio Ferdinand makes his 200th appearance for United today, with Alex Ferguson claiming the defender has fully justified his record £29.1 million transfer fee. At the time, it was a British record sum — and even now has been eclipsed only by the £30m Chelsea splashed out on Andriy Shevchenko.

After Ferdinand followed up some early inconsistency by landing himself with an eight-month ban for a missed drugs test, it appeared Ferguson had wasted his cash. However, since Ferdinand completed his fateful suspension in September 2004, the 28-year-old has begun to fulfil his enormous potential — and is proving to be one of the cornerstones of United’s drive for silverware on three fronts this season.

“It is hard to pick a better defender in the world than Rio,” said Ferguson.

Ferdinand has also benefited from the arrival of Nemanja Vidic. In combining Ferdinand’s relaxed style and the harder edge of Vidic’s defending, United now have a central defensive partnership to rival the axis of Steve Bruce and Gary Pallister — upon whom so much of United’s early success under the Scot was built.

Having established a six-point lead over Chelsea with 12 games of the campaign remaining, Ferguson is convinced defensive solidity is the key to United maintaining their advantage.

Ferdinand and Vidic should not be extended too much today by a Charlton side anchored in the relegation zone and whose recent record against United is pitiful. Providing the Red Devils win today, it will be the fifth successive season in which United have completed a Premiership double over the Addicks — although Ferguson is refusing to take a win for granted.