Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo believes he
fully deserves to be named FIFA Player of the Year. Ronaldo is a
firm favourite to emulate last year's winner Kaka and lift both the
European and World player of the year titles.
The 23-year-old helped fire United to the Premier League and
Champions League double last season with 43 goals, and believes
there is still more to come.
"I am the first, second and third best player in the world,"
joked Ronaldo in an interview with Brazilian daily O Estado de Sao
Paulo. "But there are other good candidates, like Kaka, (Lionel)
Messi and (Fernando) Torres.
"I think that I did everything that is necessary to win and I am
going to continue doing more. "My goal is to win everything that is
in front of me."
Brazil legend Pele expects to be giving the prize to the
Portugal winger this year, and Ronaldo draws particular pleasure
from his comments.
"That represents a lot for me, he was a great player in world
football," added Ronaldo. "It was a special sensation for me to
hear that from Pele."
With each season that passes, Ronaldo is hitting the back of the
net more and more frequently.
Despite missing the start of the season after ankle surgery he
already has nine goals for United, but revealed it was never his
aim to be a prolific goalscorer.
"My objective, sincerely, was never to score goals," he added.
"I like to play for the team, or what I want most is to win games.
"But, if the goals appear, all the better. I am having the luck of
scoring many goals and I hope things continue like this."
In a typically confident interview, the former Sporting Lisbon
ace said he was ready for plenty of attention from Brazilian women
ahead of Wednesday night's friendly in Brasilia.
'Oh, I'm ready for harassment (from women), I'm used to that in
Europe, and here it is the same,' he said. 'It is a friendly game
here and a good opportunity to relax. 'I have been [to Brazil] a
few times, but never to play. I love holidays here, there are
beautiful beaches and the people are nice.'
A home draw against Albania last time out was particularly badly
received but Ronaldo has asked for patience. 'Big Phil (Scolari) is
a great friend. I'm sorry he has left the Portugal job, but it was
an excellent move (to Chelsea). I loved working with him.
'Queiroz has not had much time to develop his work. Two years
ago, England also had problems and then they recovered. All the big
national teams go through this. Let us recover.'
Recovery is also something that Ronaldo hopes for in the global
economy, even if you would think his multi-million pound contract
leaves him immune from the credit crunch.
'The situation has to worry everyone, yes,' he said. 'We are
worried and feel a certain uncertainty (about the future). We talk
about it - it is part of our reality - but we believe that things
will improve.'
