Cristiano Ronaldo joins Kick It Out's week of action
Cristiano Ronaldo is currently enjoying his most prolific season to date, with 40 goals to his name. He spoke to Kick It Out at Manchester United's training ground about the importance of family, community and why your nationality should not affect the game.
Tell us about your home in Portugal?
I am from an island called Madeira, off the Portuguese mainland. It is a beautiful place and I am so proud to have come from there. I do miss home, my friends, the weather, the culture and the nice beaches but I am now comfortable living in Manchester.
I have some friends here from the Portuguese community and it has helped having Carlos Quieros (MUFC coach) here, having someone speaking the same language in the same line of work.
Football is played by so many people of different backgrounds...
It is normal within most teams to have a mix of many different nationalities. This has helped me learn about different cultures and ways of life. It has also helped me learn about different ways of dealing with things. When I joined Sporting Lisbon I lived in a house with three team mates, two were from Guinea and one from Angola. This was the first time that I had mixed with people from a different background. They still remain great friends of mine today.
Many in the Portuguese community in England were worried about how you would be treated after the World Cup. How do you feel?
To begin with I found it really difficult, all I can say is that it is getting better and I hope that this will continue and in time it will get less and less. It is sad that when things don't go well, people need to find a scapegoat. There will always be rivalries amongst teams, both local and national, but I don¹' believe that it helps the game when people fight because of their nationality.
What would you have been if not a footballer?
I believe it was my destiny from the beginning to play football, although it is not easy to become a footballer.
When I was a child I did not have fancy toys, like a Playstation, my parents did not have the money, all I had was my football. Lots of great players like Maradonna have come from poor backgrounds and had to learn their skill sand technical abilities on the street.
This helped to make them the players they become.
How important have your family been to your career?
I owe them a lot. If I am happy at home, I am happy on the pitch. When I joined Sporting I was only 11 and I used to cry every day because I missed home. I knew that if I worked really hard I could become the player I wanted to be.
