Cristiano Ronaldo says it was Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez who pushed him out of the club and explains that he joined Juventus because ” they really wanted me.”
The Portuguese forward joined the Bianconeri in the summer and explained the reasons behind his departure from Los Merengues, in part because of his failing relationship with Pérez.
“He only ever looked at me as a business relationship,” Ronaldo told France Football.
“I know it. What he told me never came from the heart. 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.
“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.
“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.
“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.
“Zidane? My decision to leave was not based on his departure. That being the case, it’s one of those little things that made me feel a bit better in terms of what I thought of the situation at the club.
Despite losing the FIFA player of the year award, the 33-year-old still has his sights set on winning the Ballon d’Or for a third year in a row.
“I think I deserve it this year … Yes, I dream of winning the Ballon d’Or for the sixth time and passing, in this case, Lionel Messi.
Ronaldo was also asked about the rape allegations made against him by Kathryn Mayorga, an allegation he strongy denies.
“Of course, this story is interfering in my life. I have a partner, four children, an ageing mother, sisters, a brother, a family with whom I am very close. Not to mention my reputation, which is that of someone exemplary … Imagine what it means when someone accuses you of rape, whether you have all that or not.
“I know who I am and what I did. Truth will out one day. And the people who criticise me or seek to expose my life today, who make it into a circus, these people will see.
“I explained to my partner. My son, Cristiano Jr, is too young to understand. It’s worst for my mother and my sisters. They are stunned, and at the same time very angry. This is the first time I have seen them in this state.”
