Oldie but goldie. Be prepared for a little CrisKa confession :o)

Interview from November 2010 for the Brazilian show “Esporte Espetacular” - my translation:

Interviewer: Pelé said, depending if in public or private, he is a different person. Is it the same with you?
Cristiano: No, I am always the same person. On and off the pitch, I try to do things the way I feel good about. Right or wrong, that’s how we have to live our life. I always try to show only one personality and figure, inside and outside the field.

Interviewer: People are talking a lot about you, playing for RM, living in Madrid …
Cristiano: How I already said various times, everything in my career happened very quickly, coming to Real Madrid also. Of course everything has to go well. I am pretty happy here, I like Madrid, the people, the football, which is the most important thing. My cycle in Manchester has ended, I was very happy there, but now my new home is Madrid. All that I won with Manchester I also want to win with Real.

Interviewer: There was a survey in Brazil, who is the most handsome, you or Kaká.
Cristinao (laughs): Everyone has his opinion, it’s nothing important. It was in Brazil? Then Kaká won! Just kidding!
(serious) But that doesn’t matter. We are great friends, we talk a lot and I hope he will recover as quickly as possible because he is missed very much on the pitch and he is a such a great companion. Kaká is one of those I’ve most enjoyed getting to know.
Interviewer: Kaká only won by a very narrow margin.
Cristiano (laughs): Really? But he is beautiful. He deserves it, he deserves.

Interviewer: You always care a lot about your appearance, make commercials, photo shootings … don’t you think the football world is a bit conservative for that?
Cristiano: As they say in Brazil (uses a Brazilian expression), ‘I do not care’.
I do not care what people think of me, what’s their opinion. To me this is not important. For me the most important thing is to do things well on the pitch. When things go well on the pitch, people have no reason whatsoever to speak of morals. And things are going very well. I play well, score goals, I’m in a big club, everything is going fine. Therefore I do not have to worry about what others think.

Interviewer: There has always been a special closeness between Brazil and Portugal  … always special games between the 2 countries.
Cristiano: On the field, as they say, there are no friends. Each one wants to win, fighting for his colours. So the rivalry is normal. But off the pitch it is totally different, we are friends and have a normal life. But that’s competition and it is good. Brazil is a brother-country, and the relations with Portugal are very good. I have very good Brazilian friends and so my relation with Brazil is fantastic.

Interviewer: There were many critics after the World Cup 2010 …
Cristiano: I don’t care. There is a saying: “The ones who criticise don’t have a mirror at home”.
It’s normal, people are criticising. I’m not worried about it, never been, why should I be now?

Interviewer: Your performance for the Portuguese Selecção and the club is very different …
Cristiano: The statistics speak for themselves. If people analyse my statistics regarding the Selecção and the clubs, they will keep quiet.