• Champions League

Ronaldo no longer 'unhappy' at Real

ESPN staff
February 6, 2013
Cristiano Ronaldo has declared himself happy at Real Madrid © Getty Images
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Cristiano Ronaldo has said his 'unhappiness' at Real Madrid has passed, although he is not yet ready to think about signing a new contract with the Liga club.

Ronaldo famously told reporters at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu's mixed zone in early September that "I am unhappy, and the club know why", but has since declined to offer any more details for his low mood.

The Portuguese attacker has since appeared to recover his best form, on the pitch at least, and in an interview with AS on Wednesday he said something had changed in the months since that revelation.

"Yes, something has changed because I am doing what I like, which is playing football and I feel very good on the field and with my team-mates," Ronaldo said. "Maybe I have also changed my way of thinking and being. At this moment I feel better than I did then."

Many observers assumed that Ronaldo's sadness then was linked to the absence of an improved contract offer from Madrid, to extend and enlarge his current €10.5 million-a-year deal, which runs until June 2015.

Money had not been an issue, he said, but any contract talk should now be left until the season was over.

"I am not going to talk much about that, because the truth is that for me the most important thing, what is in my head and my aims, is that Madrid wins the Champions League and the Copa del Rey," Ronaldo said.

"The contract renewal is a subject I do not want to talk about. It does not concern me now. The only important thing now is the team and we will speak at the end of the season. I swear by my son that my 'unhappiness' was never a question of money. It was not."

Ronaldo was speaking in Guimares, ahead of Portugal's friendly against Ecuador on Wednesday. The national team captain said he was over recent injury concerns and ready to face Sevilla in La Liga on Saturday and then Manchester United in Wednesday's Champions League last-16 first leg clash at the Santiago Bernabeu.

"Everything is fine now," Ronaldo said. "I had a muscle strain, but I am already much better now. For Sevilla and 'El Manchester' I will be fit to play."

The attacker, who turned 28 on Tuesday, said the best birthday present would be a double cup success at Madrid this season.

"The first present I would ask for is la Decima [Madrid's fabled tenth European Cup trophy], something that is very special for Real Madrid after so many years without winning it and also, logically, special for me," he said.

"The Champions League is the biggest for a player and I am very excited about winning it this year. There is also the Copa del Rey with Madrid, because we know that La Liga is now very difficult."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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