I’m hungry for even more success: Ronaldo
Eyeing glory: Cristiano Ronaldo wants to win more CRISTIANO Ronaldo says he remains as ambitious as ever as he was officially unveiled as a Juventus player after completing his £99.2million transfer from Real Madrid.
The 33-year-old Ballon d’Or holder was unveiled by the Serie A champions on Monday evening after passing a medical earlier in the day.
The blockbuster move came as something of a surprise, but the Portuguese insists he is just as motivated as ever to prove himself in Italy after record-breaking spells in both England and Spain.
“The nine years at Real Madrid were wonderful, but it’s a brand new step in my life, so I thank all the supporters with my heart,” he told a press conference in Turin.
“But I have to focus on this next step. I’m looking forward to playing. I’m very motivated, concentrated and focused on that.
“I’m going to try to show that I am a top player, as usual. I’m going to work hard in training. I don’t think I have to show what I am more than that — you know my stats. But I am very ambitious and I like challenges. I don’t like to stay in my comfort zone, I like to seize new challenges.
“After the experiences in Manchester and in Madrid, I’d like to mark the history of Juventus. I like challenges, again, and I hope everything will go very well.”
Ronaldo revealed he had chosen to join Juve rather than head for one last big pay day in the Middle or Far East.
He added: “I’m here because it’s a brand new challenge for my career. It’s a big club, and usually players of my age go to Qatar or to China, with all due respect, so coming to such an important club at this point in my career makes me very happy.
“That’s why I’m very grateful to Juventus for this opportunity because I can go on with my career.”
Questioned about what Juventus could give him during his four years in Turin, Ronaldo replied: “I can see that Juventus is a club that can have many successes.
“They have won domestic cups and Serie A titles, and they were in the final of the Champions League, so I am so proud to be here, I am so proud that they were interested in me.
“I hope I can give the best response on the field during matches, that’s what I can do. I hope I can take them to an even higher level.”
The former Manchester United star was also asked if he could foresee another rivalry like the one he enjoyed with Barcelona’s Lionel Messi in Spain.
He replied: “I don’t see players as rivals, that not how I live. Of course we want to win, we’re going to try to win all the matches, that’s the big challenge for us, to be the best and play as well as possible.
“At the end of the story, we will see who is the best.” BARCELONA are ready to open talks with Chelsea over Willian in the coming days as Real Madrid prepare to make their own push for Eden Hazard and Thibaut Courtois.
The Stamford Bridge club have had a curious summer, but one that took an obvious upward turn when they announced the signing of Napoli midfielder Jorginho and the hire of Maurizio Sarri as their new manager over the weekend.
What goes up must come down, however, and Barca’s push for Willian will come in the next week as Ernesto Valverde hopes to secure an energetic wideman to take his league-winning side to the next level.
Manchester United have shown an interest in the Brazilian but, as a rule, Chelsea are reluctant to sell within the Premier League when there is a willing bidder from abroad, and there has been enough encouragement to initial contacts from Barcelona that the Spanish side is confident a deal can be done.
Willian’s arrival would be smoothed by Phillipe Coutinho securing a Portuguese passport, as it would mean the former Liverpool playmaker no longer occupied one of Barca’s three nonEU squad berths.
Real Madrid have no such issues as they target the Belgian pair of Courtois and Hazard, but the former is a far easier deal to do than the latter.
While Hazard expressed a desire to leave Chelsea in the wake of Belgium’s third-place finish at the World Cup, the playmaker has little leverage and would need Chelsea to play ball in order for him to leave.
The Spanish giants are more confident on Courtois, who has repeatedly talked about how he would like to move back to Madrid in order to be close to his children and has allowed his contract to tick down into its final 12 months.
Overseas clubs can make pre-contract offers to Courtois from January and sign him on what would likely be the largest contract ever handed out to a goalkeeper, and while Chelsea have tried to extend his deal they would need to sell him this summer to avoid losing him for free.