Cristiano Ronaldo believes Wayne Rooney’s comments about Portugal not qualifying for the World Cup were in jest.
Rooney had said “it would be nice” if Portugal did not qualify for the competition in South Africa next year, as England have been knocked out of their last two major tournaments by Ronaldo’s side.
Real Madrid coach Manuel Pellegrini has refused to blame Cristiano Ronaldo’s absence for their defeat at Sevilla.
The Spanish giants dropped their first points of the season in a 2-1 defeat at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan.
Madrid travelled to Sevilla without a host of players, including star man Ronaldo, but Pellegrini insists they should have been able to cope.
“He is an important player,” said the Madrid coach. “But you build a team for when there are absentees.
“Two errors cost us the game and at the end we had the chance to equalise.
“Sevilla are going through a great time and they are the rightful winners.”
However, Pellegrini did find fault with his team for the two goals they conceded.
Headers from Jesus Navas and Renato, either side of Pepe’s equaliser, handed Sevilla all three points and Pellegrini admits the ease with which they let in those goals is a concern.
“You can’t go away happy when you lose,” he added. “We were at fault for both goals.
“I believe the game was lost because of defensive errors. I’m worried that they got two headers against us from players that are a lot shorter.”
Real Madrid’s 100% start to the season came to an end at the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán as Sevilla made it seven victories in a row in all competitions. Missing several of their star names, Real were comprehensively outplayed in the first half and went behind to Jesús Navas’ 33rd-minute header.
Pepe equalised against the run of play but Renato headed a deserved winner in the 67th minute to draw Sevilla level on points with Real and three behind the league leaders, Barcelona.
Cristiano Ronaldo has been ruled out of Sunday’s Primera Division showdown with Sevilla due to injury.
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FIFA have been accused of trying to ‘fix’ who qualifies for the World Cup to ensure the likes of Germany and France reach South Africa next summer.
The Mail on Sunday has learned that football’s governing body made a U-turn on their rules last week, with star names like Cristiano Ronaldo and Franck Ribery in danger of missing out.
Cristiano Ronaldo admits he is already feeling at home in his new surroundings at Real Madrid.
Nani has revealed he turns to his former Manchester United team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo whenever he needs a confidence booster.
The 22-year-old was wasteful in United’s 2-0 win at Stoke on Saturday before being hauled off early in the second half for Ryan Giggs, who helped set up both goals for Sir Alex Ferguson’s side.
Nani has revealed he remains close with Real Madrid superstar Ronaldo and the pair often talk about how he can improve his game.
“Cristiano and I talk a lot,” explained Nani. “We speak about my own game and he gives me confidence to go out and perform.”
Abd Ronaldo has backed his international colleague’s credentials and believes that in the coming years he will be amongst the world’s best.
Ronaldo said: “Nani is an excellent player and I am sure that in a few years he will be among the best players in the world.”
The devastating effect of Real Madrid’s second galáctico era was on full display last night as Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaká scored in a 2-0 win for Manuel Pellegrini’s side against Villarreal.
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