Cristiano Ronaldo Wants Real Madrid's Number 7 Shirt
Real Madrid superstar Cristiano Ronaldo has claimed he is keen to get his hands on the famous number seven shirt that used to be worn by the club’s legendary striker Raúl González Blanco.
The 33-year-old Bernebau icon left the club this week to try his luck with German Bundesliga outfit Schalke 04. There had been rumours that the club would offer Ronaldo the former Spain international’s squad number, and the Portuguese winger has openly stated that he is desperate to don the famous Real Madrid number seven shirt.
The former Manchester United player wore the corresponding shirt during his time at Old Trafford, but was forced to take the number nine top at Real Madrid, with Raul being in possession of the prized shirt. Ronaldo has such affection for the number seven that he has opened two fashion boutiques bearing the name CR7 – his initials and old shirt number.
At a press conference following Real Madrid’s first training session at their Los Angeles camp, the 25-year-old said: "I would like to have the number 7 shirt and I'm sure Raul would be happy if I had it because he knows how I am and how I think. Raul was always an important player to Real Madrid. He made the decision that best suited his interests. He is a great professional and I'm sure he will play at a very high level."
Training treat
Speaking of the training sessions under coach Jose Mourinho, Ronaldo voiced his appreciation for his new manager’s approach to the sessions and stated his belief that Madrid will play attractive attacking football in the upcoming season. He said: "Mourinho is a winner. Real Madrid has attacking players, so we will be an offensive team. The priority right now is to get back in shape as soon as possible."
The player also said that he is looking forward to the new La Liga season getting under way, and revealed he is not afraid of the threat posed by fierce rivals and league champions Barcelona. He explained: "We are very excited and working very hard. We have to keep this level of excitement up in order to win titles. Barcelona were more regular than us last year, but we are not worried about what they may do this season. I'm sure we will have a better run this year. If I actually believed we couldn't defeat Barcelona, I would be home instead of here. All great players are welcome here and we will greet them the best way we know how. All the summer signings are very good."
Ronaldo, who Real Madrid paid a world record transfer fee of £80 million (95.5 million Euros) for in 2009, started his career with Sporting CP. He came to the attention of Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson in 2003 after his team played Sporting CP in a friendly. Having been astounded by Ronaldo’s tricks, the United players urged Ferguson to sign him.
Feared winger
Under Ferguson’s wing, Ronaldo has become one of the most feared players in world football and is generally regarded as one of the best players on the planet. With United, he won three English Premier League titles, an FA Cup and two League Cups as well as the biggest prize in European club football, the UEFA Champions League. He was also named World Player of the Year in 2008.
Ronaldo is also captain of the Portugal national team, and was part of the squad that reached the final of the UEFA European Championships in 2004. At the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, Ronaldo didn’t quite play to the level expected of him and scored one goal at the tournament before being eliminated by Spain in the round of 16.
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