Ronaldo still tasty with fellow stars
REAL MADRID star Cristiano Ronaldo says team spirit does not involve sharing tapas with Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale.
Ahead of a Champions League match at Roma tonight, Ronaldo was asked if his relationships with team- mates Bale and Benzema had contributed to Madrid’s slow start in La Liga.
He said: “When I was at Manchester, winning the Champions League, with 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 there was total understanding.
“I don’t need to go out for dinner with Benzema or Bale. What counts is on the pitch.”
Roma coach Luciano Spalletti has no plans “to cage” Ronaldo, the Champions League’s all- time record scorer with 88 goals and this season’s leader with 11.
Spalletti said: “He is one of the best in the world, he can always make a difference but I’m not going to cage him or order three players to mark him .
“I don’t want to say my players have one third of his quality. If so, we’d need 33 players to deal with them.” Kostas Manolas, the Roma defender, added: “If we feel we’re only one third of Ronaldo, then we’d be better off not playing at all. We’d already be beaten.”
Real romped through their group with 19 goals as they won fi ve of their six fi xtures for 16 points.
Roma squeezed into the knockout rounds with just six points after only one win.
But Spalletti refused to accept they are outsiders. “I don’t think there’s a favourite,” he said. “We’ve a 50 per cent chance of progressing.”
Spalletti has overseen a revival at Roma since replacing Rudi Garcia as coach in January, winning four league games and losing once.
“I wouldn’t be amazed if it was my team who went through,” he said.
The second leg in Spain will take place on March 8.