Jose Mourinho made a plea to Cristiano Ronaldo before he heads back to Serie A next season… to leave him in peace!
The Special One joined talkSPORT Breakfast on Friday morning ahead of Euro 2020 and spoke about his Portuguese compatriot and one of the game’s greatest ever players.
He coached Ronaldo at Real Madrid between 2010 and 2013, winning win LaLiga, the Copa del Rey and the Spanish Super Cup together.
The pair will be on opposite sides in the Italian league next season with Mourinho taking over at Roma and Ronaldo still playing – and scoring – at Juventus.
Asked about Ronaldo on talkSPORT, Mourinho joked: “He should leave Italy now and leave me in peace.!
Ronaldo is 36 but still producing outrageous, and consistent, numbers at Juventus.
In just three seasons, he’s already broken the 100 goal mark for the club.
Mourinho said: “Everybody says, and I say the same, he’s not 25 any more. He’s 36. He doesn’t score 50 goals, but how many did he score? 35.
“The record is incredible, the numbers speak by itself.”
The Portuguese superstar is a five-time Ballon d’Or winner, won dozens of trophies and broken numerous records.
But his appetite for more continues. When asked what drives him on, Mourinho said: “I think records. He is a legend, one of the big names that stays forever in football history, but the guy motivates himself with numbers and new things.
“He wants to win the gold ball X times, the golden boot X times, he wants to get the record from the Iran (player) for goals for an international team, he wants to not just play in this Euros but the World Cup.”
The Ronaldo vs Messi debate has raged on for more than a decade now, and we will never be close to a definitive answer.
When asked if Ronaldo would get infuriated when people say Messi is better, Mourinho said: “I don’t think so.
“I think critics motivates him. I think he feels ‘if people criticise me, it’s because of who I am, I did what I did’.
“He still gets that extra motivation. As an opponent, you should be quiet and not say a wrong word about him as it will always be motivation for him.
“Mentally he’s very strong.”
talkSPORT and talkSPORT 2 will have live commentary of EVERY game of Euro 2020. You won’t miss a thing as we bring you round the clock coverage, reaction and analysis from June 11-July 11. Listen online HERE.
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