But what did Ronaldo really say?
It appears his words were twisted, making him look bad. Did the 31-year-old superstar really put Danilo and his other team mates down as claimed in the press? Below is the video of his post-game interview in Spanish and our exclusive full English transcript of the audio tape by Marca.
CR: We played at home, we had more opportunities, we played better than them, but unfortunately we were not lucky enough to score our chances, Atletico did and they ended up scoring the winning goal.
Q: Was it just luck?
CR: I don’t know if it’s only luck, what I’m telling you is that we played better, we had more chances to score from my point of view, football’s like that, we couldn’t win. We already knew that (winning) La Liga was very complicated for us, and it will get even more complicated after this, but we have to go on, we still have the UEFA Champions League, a very complicated competition. But if we keep playing our league games in good form we can be better prepared to fight for the UCL.
Q: The status of the team is critical… (interrupted)
CR: It has been critical for quite some time.
Q: Yes, but why is it? Is it an attitude problem or…?
CR: No, I’ve said the same thing to your colleagues, in order to win a tough, long competition such as La Liga…I don’t want to say who’s better than anyone else, because I believe that in order to play for Real Madrid you have to be quite good. But when you don’t have the best players available, it’s complicated. We don’t have Karim, Pepe, Marcelo, Bale, and it’s tough. I’m not saying that the ones that played today haven’t measured up to the challenge, but those players that I mentioned are the best, and you always miss the best in every team. I don’t know if it’s just bad luck or if we had a bad pre-season, but we are having to deal with a lot of injuries, and that’s not good. It’s bad for the team, it gets to us when we play away from home, and we’ve paid the toll. Lots of points behind, losses against our top rivals in la Liga such as Barcelona and Atletico Madrid…and we know that It’s a fact that winning the league is almost impossible, but we still have the UCL to look up to, which we’ll face with much more enthusiasm, and we’ll see how things go.
Q: Without considering injuries or bad luck, the team’s not playing good football.
CR: I disagree with your analysis, I see the team playing OK, maybe we have one or two not so good games, but we’re definitely playing better now compared to what we were doing a few weeks back.
Q: But this is a great squad, you have 23 players, well 22, now that Cheryshev’s gone,you have someone like Danilo, Brazilian international, it’s a great squad, the absences shouldn’t be that relevant with a team such as this one.
CR: Well, that’s your POV, but I stand by my words. I don’t want to underestimate anyone, but if you don’t have all the best players available, it’s difficult. It’s difficult to win such a long competition. I don’t know the reason why it’s so hard to win, but it is. I’m not going to lie to you. I like to play with Karim, when he’s not around, it’s tough. I like playing with Bale, I like playing alongside Marcelo, when they’re not on the pitch it’s difficult. I’m not saying Danilo doesn’t have what it takes, in fact, I believe Danilo was the best player on the pitch for us, but as the season goes on, it’s complicated, because the best players usually can live up to the expectations in every single game. I’m not saying that Jesé, Lucas, or Kovacevic(sic) are not that good, but…it’s not the same,yes. And that’s my POV.
FACT: @Cristiano NEVER accused #Danilo as reported by some media sources. Full transcript: https://t.co/RIhkPaHYiA pic.twitter.com/mwWWieavbj
— LiveSoccerTV.com (@LiveSoccerTV) March 1, 2016
Q: You’re one of the few injury-free players this season (interrupted)
CR: Yes, thank God.
Q: Have you been able to figure out why the team has been so damaged by injuries?
CR: I don’t have an explanation, but it’s a fact. It’s the truth and it has to be said. Maybe when the season began we were not working properly, or even during preseason, I don’t know. What I do know is that we’re missing a bunch of good players.
#Cristiano was apparently referring to his FITNESS level. Full transcript via @LordRojas_: https://t.co/RIhkPaHYiA pic.twitter.com/d1xsE3qMwF
— LiveSoccerTV.com (@LiveSoccerTV) March 1, 2016
Q: And how are u doing Cristiano? Because the version of CR7 that the fans like is the one that played against Roma, the one that dribbles past a player, humiliates an opponent and boom, golazo. Why is it that CR7 didn’t appear today, or didn’t show up against Málaga, is it really because your team-mates are not in the best shape, or is it maybe because YOU’re not in your best shape? I’m not criticizing or anything (interrupted)
CR: (I’ve just said it) You always talk about this sort of thing, I’m not in my best shape and I’m close to them (those who lead the scoring tables). Take a look at the UCL goal scoring standings, I don’t see anyone performing like me. I feel persecuted by you. “Cristiano is not in good shape, so Madrid goes down”, you say. No, that’s not it. If all my team-mates were in shape, like I am, we would be first, maybe.
Q: It doesn’t matter what the press says… (interrupted)
CR: What the press says, what the press says, you’re not being fair. You ask me screwed up questions and you question my contribution, my value. Ever since I joined the team, it seems like I’m playing like shit. Take a look at my stats, it’s easy.
Q: Regardless of what the press may say, the team’s supporters can’t be sure if you press a button to play a great UCL, press it once more and have a bad La Liga game. The team’s not playing OK.
CR: I don’t share that thought. I don’t see ourselves playing that badly. Now, if you take a look at our intensity when we play La Liga and not the UCL, then you have a point. Damn it, you’re 9 points behind the leader, and you’re under pressure, it’s more complicated, but if you see our UCL games the team has played great football. It’s not right to think like that, but subconsciously you do. It’s not the same to compete in the UCL than in La Liga, where you still have a fighting chance like all the rest, and not in La Liga, which has been fucked and you’re nine points away from the leader. It’s completely different.
Q: This is my last question. With THIS team, is it possible for Real Madrid to win the UCL?
CR: Maybe it is! I’m excited to play it ‘cause it’s right there for us to win it, because every team’s starting from scratch. And now, I’ll say it one more time, if we don’t have our best players available to win that tournament, it will be very tough to accomplish.
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