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

In other news, Mourinho’s former assistant manager joins Turkish club and Neville relaxed in his position as Valencia coach.

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

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.”

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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”.

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