CNN interview with Cristiano, 18.05.2012

• COMPARISON WITH MESSI
  “Some people say I’m better, other people say it’s him, but at the end of the day, they’re going to decide who is the best player. At the moment … I think it is me. (laughs)
  Sometimes it makes me tired … for him too because they compare us together all the time.
  You cannot compare a Ferrari with a Porsche because it’s a different engine. You cannot compare them.
  He does the best things for Barcelona, I do the best things for Madrid.
  I think we push each other sometimes in the competition, this is why the competition is so high. This is why Madrid and Barcelona are the best teams in the world because everyone pushes each other, not just me and Messi but other players.”
  
  
• IMAGE AND REAL LIFE
  ”Sometimes, you have to put on a mask. You cannot smile every time for all the people. It’s impossible, I cannot do that. This is not my type of personality.
  And people really don’t know me. And I do it for that because I don’t want every person to know me, just close friends … you know, my friends, teammates. These people know me very well. Other people, to be honest, I really don’t care about that.”
  
  
• LA LIGA TITLE
  “My high point is to win the title here in Madrid.
  It was my first time, so I was so happy because it’s my best moment here in Madrid, the most important trophy.
  In terms of individual, it was great for me, the goals that I scored, to break my own record … to do 100 points in the Spanish league which is a record too. It’s phenomenal.
  For me this is the most difficult league in the world. To compete with Barcelona, as everyone knows is very complicated and we beat them. Nine points ahead … so it was an amazing year.
  The points speak for themselves. Nine points separated Madrid and Barcelona; it’s a lot here in Spain. We played better than them this year, I’m sure about that. I remember we went there one month ago and we won 2-1… nobody can do that, it’s very difficult so we deserve to win the league. We are better than them at the moment, but we have to respect them because they are a great team too.”
  
  
• MOURINHO
  ”As a person he’s a humble guy … he’s very simple. We joke all the time, with funny stories all the time. It’s great.
  In terms of coaching, he’s completely different. He’s so serious, so professional. This is why he wins the titles that he won.
  Because for me, not just because I work with him, but he’s the best because of what he does: the tactics, everything around the players, the motivation … and you know, the titles speak for themselves. He won in every country that he’s passed, so I think that’s great. I think nobody … two or three coaches do that in their lives, so we have to appreciate that.”
  
  
• CHAMPIONS LEAGUE sem-final defeat
  ”To be honest, it was one of the worst days in my career so far.
  It’s always tough when you lose something, when you lose on penalties.
  But I’m not really worried about that because if I didn’t score the two goals most of the players aren’t going to shoot the penalties, so I have to appreciate what I did in the Champions League, what I did for the club.”
  
  
• CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL PREDICTION
  “Most people think that Bayern is going to win easily. I don’t think so.
  Don’t forget that Chelsea beat Barcelona, which is very, very tough. It will be an interesting game. I don’t know which team is going to win. I’m not going to bet on anything because Chelsea is very strong. They defend well, they have a good counterattack. Bayern is a fantastic team too, so it will be a good game.”

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