Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo says his life does not revolve around football alone. Fernando Alvarado / EPA
Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo says his life does not revolve around football alone. Fernando Alvarado / EPA

Cristiano Ronaldo wants to ‘live like a king’ in retirement



MADRID // World Player of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo has claimed he will “live like a king” once his playing career comes to an end, but he has ruled out a move into coaching when he hangs up his boots.

Real Madrid’s all-time leading scorer is in action on Sunday as Los Blancos look to move level with eternal rivals Barcelona in the Primera Liga title race at Valencia.

However, in a wide-ranging interview with Spanish newspaper El Mundo, he conceded football does not always captivate his interest.

“I have a top life, but I think I am going to enjoy it more when I finish my career, when I have time to do what I like,” he said.

“This Saturday there is a boxing bout in Las Vegas and I would like to take my friends and family to see it, and I can’t because I don’t have time.

“I am not going to cry about it now because I am making a sacrifice in inverted commas, but after I want to live like a king.”

ALSO WATCH: Young Lebanese orphan goes to Real Madrid to meet his hero Cristiano Ronaldo — video

Ronaldo is the world’s third-highest paid athlete according to American business magazine Forbes with an annual income just shy of US$80 million (Dh294m) dollars.

And Ronaldo, 30, says he will continue to work on his brand once he retires from playing rather than a more traditional move into coaching.

“If you ask me now if I want to be a coach, I would say no. Nor a sporting director or president of a club,” he added.

“Since I was 27 I have had my own line of clothes and I want my brand to keep growing because football will finish in five, six, seven or 10 years.”

The Portuguese captain’s success has also attracted critics of his at times egotistical nature.

His decision to go ahead with a lavish 30th birthday hours after Madrid had lost 4-0 to Atletico Madrid in the capital derby in February dominated headlines in Spain for weeks afterwards.

Yet, despite admitting to making mistakes, Ronaldo says it is his confidence that has moulded his talents into a three-time World Player of the Year.

“Many people say they don’t regret anything. That is a lie,” he added. “I at least regret things a lot, but that also explains the kind of person you are.

“I am like this. If all I have achieved in football is by being like this then you can’t ask me to change. If people ask me to improve, I accept it, but to change is very difficult.”

Mourinho’s former assistant manager joins Turkish club

Ambitious Turkish Super Lig side Antalyaspor on Sunday said that the former Chelsea assistant coach to Jose Mourinho, who was dismissed by his club, Jose Manuel Ferreira de Morais, was set to sign for the club as their new manager. The club from the Mediterranean resort are currently co-managed on a temporary basis by their star striker, the former Cameroon international Samuel Eto’o, after the departure of Yusuf Simsek last month.

Morais worked as assistant to Mourinho in almost all of his key assignments including at Porto, Inter Milan, Real Madrid and Chelsea. “In principle agreement has been reached on every issue with Morais and he will come to Turkey from England,” club vice president Hasan Ali Ceylan said in a statement quoted by the Dogan news agency.

Neville relaxed in his position as Valencia coach

Former England and Manchester United defender Gary Neville is not targeting a long-term career in management and says he is “relaxed” about how long he stays at the helm of Spanish side Valencia. The England assistant coach made a surprise move to Valencia last month to take up his first managerial post until the end of the season, but says his future lies in other projects.

“I’m not going to say where I want to end up, and it isn’t in management or head coaching, so I want to be clear about that,” Neville, who has been linked as a possible replacement for under fire Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal, told Sky Sports. “That’s not my ultimate goal of where I want to be.” Neville was juggling his England role with punditry work for Sky Sports and co-ownership of Salford City among other interests before moving to Valencia, where he says language problems during half-time team talks have been “the biggest frustration and challenge so far”.

sports@thenational.ae

Follow us on Twitter @NatSportUAE

Like us on Facebook at facebook.com/TheNationalSport

The years Ramadan fell in May

1987

1954

1921

1888

The%20Genius%20of%20Their%20Age
%3Cp%3EAuthor%3A%20S%20Frederick%20Starr%3Cbr%3EPublisher%3A%20Oxford%20University%20Press%3Cbr%3EPages%3A%20290%3Cbr%3EAvailable%3A%20January%2024%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: ARDH Collective
Based: Dubai
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Sector: Sustainability
Total funding: Self funded
Number of employees: 4
RESULT

Los Angeles Galaxy 2 Manchester United 5

Galaxy: Dos Santos (79', 88')
United: Rashford (2', 20'), Fellaini (26'), Mkhitaryan (67'), Martial (72')

Jigra
Director: Vasan Bala
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
Rated: 3.5/5
APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)

Display: 21cm Liquid Retina Display, 2266 x 1488, 326ppi, 500 nits

Chip: Apple A17 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine

Storage: 128/256/512GB

Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4

Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR 4, full-HD @ 25/30/60fps

Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID

Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight

In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter

Price: From Dh2,099

Moral education needed in a 'rapidly changing world'

Moral education lessons for young people is needed in a rapidly changing world, the head of the programme said.

Alanood Al Kaabi, head of programmes at the Education Affairs Office of the Crown Price Court - Abu Dhabi, said: "The Crown Price Court is fully behind this initiative and have already seen the curriculum succeed in empowering young people and providing them with the necessary tools to succeed in building the future of the nation at all levels.

"Moral education touches on every aspect and subject that children engage in.

"It is not just limited to science or maths but it is involved in all subjects and it is helping children to adapt to integral moral practises.

"The moral education programme has been designed to develop children holistically in a world being rapidly transformed by technology and globalisation."


Middle East Today

The must read newsletter for the region

      By signing up, I agree to The National's privacy policy
      Middle East Today