I don’t need old pals’ act, says tetchy Cristiano Ronaldo

For Cristiano Ronaldo, team spirit doesn’t involve sharing tapas with Real Madrid strike partners Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale.

Just like he never went to the pub with team-mates while at Manchester United.

Ahead of Real’s Champions League first-leg match at Roma tonight (kick-off 7:45pm), Ronaldo was asked if his relationships with Benzema and Bale have contributed to Madrid’s slow start in La Liga.

“When I was at Manchester winning the Champions League, with some players like (Ryan) Giggs, (Rio) Ferdinand and (Paul) Scholes our discussions were limited to ‘Good morning’ and ‘Good night.’ But when we were on the pitch together there was total understanding,” Ronaldo said.

“I don’t need to go out for dinner with Benzema or Bale. What counts is what happens on the pitch,” Ronaldo added — pointing his finger on the table for emphasis.

Ronaldo is among the Spanish league’s top scorers with 21 goals, and has scored 11 in the group phase of the Champions League. But he has been criticised for his inability to score on the road lately — with his last away goal coming in November.

“I’m used to it,” the three-time Fifaworld player of the year said. “It’s like when you always give kids everything and then when you take something away they start to cry. I’ve gotten 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’t cry but they begin writing all sorts of stuff.

“If you can name one player who has scored more away goals than me since I arrived in Spain tell me who? No. There’s nobody,” Ronaldo said and then got up and walked out.

Tonight’s match will also mark the coaching debut of Zinedine Zidane in the Champions League, after the Frenchman replaced Rafael Benitez at Madrid last month.

Zidane scored a memorable winning goal for Madrid in the 2002 Champions League final against Bayer Leverkusen and he was asked about his emotions before his managerial debut in the competition with the 10-time winners.

“It’s a special competition for me, for the club and above all for the players,” Zidane said. “We all know the history of the relationship between Real Madrid and this competition but the most important thing is that we’re ready and I think we are ready for this match. When I see that the players are focused that keeps me calm.”

• A federal court in Sao Paulo has blocked Barcelona striker Neymar from using almost €45m worth of assets — including a yacht, a jet and properties, officials said yesterday.

The move was taken as the 24-year-old Brazilian is accused of tax evasion between 2011 and 2013.