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34-year-old soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo was recently interviewed by France Football magazine. A highlight of the interview was the surprising response he gave when asked whether he gets stressed out by everything that comes with being the iconic footballer he is. The 700-goal scorer responded: "I’ll tell you, if it were up to me, I would only play some important games. Those of the national team and the Champions League. "It’s these kinds of games that emerge, those with a stake, a difficult environment, a pressure. "After, you have to be pro and perform well every day to honor your family and the club you represent and who pays you for it. "So, always give the best." He added: "For the rest, I do not attach much importance to the reactions of the public.” Reflecting on his rivalry with Messi during his spell at Real Madrid, he said, 'A lot of people said that we fed each other, that being together in Spain made us better. 

Lopetegui has just paid the price for his ambition and hubris - fired after a 139-day spell of humiliation at Real Madrid, right after being fired from the Spain national team. He cost Spain a World Cup as he risked everything in a bid to fulfill his 15-year old dream of coaching Real Madrid. Lopetegui was controversially hired by Real Madrid just before the start of the World Cup, without Lopetegui conferring with his then employer - the Spanish Football Federation. He was fired as Spain's national team manager at the eve of the World Cup in Russia. Alas, Julen Lopetegui was sacked on Monday as Real Madrid issued an abrupt statement confirming Lopetegui's long-anticipated dismissal following Los Blancos' 5-1 humiliation by Barcelona on Sunday - during the first Clasico of the season.  The statement released by Real Madrid on Monday night read:  “The Board of Directors of Real Madrid CF, meeting today October 29, 2018, has agreed to terminate the contract that

Cristiano Ronaldo recently opened up to France Football, on the rape allegations against him in an exclusive interview (October 30, 2018). He responded with the usual candidness he's renowned for. “Listen, I am neither going to ignore nor lie to you on this question. Of course this story is interfering with my life. I have a girlfriend, four children, a mother who is getting older, sisters, a brother, a family who I am very close to. Without speaking about my reputation, which is an exemplary one. For my team-mates, my family, the fans who support me, this story is irrelevant. I am someone who is grounded, and I know what man I am and the professional that I am. Imagine that someone is saying that you are a rapist, or that you did this or that. I know who I am and what I did. The truth will have its day and people who are criticizing me, who are “exposing” my life, who are making a circus out of it, those people will see. On that day, we will see if the people put my name on

In an interview released on Tuesday (October 30, 2018), in France Football, Cristiano Ronaldo challenged this year's Ballon d'Or contenders like Kylian Mbappe and Mohamed Salah to emulate he and Messi and dominate football for the next decade. The following extracts from Ronaldo's exclusive interview with France Football show that age has no effect on Ronaldo's football ambitions. The five-time Ballon d'Or winners Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have championed Spanish and European football for about a decade now. Despite admitting that competition for the Ballon d'Or would be stiffer this year, Ronaldo didn't rule himself out as a favorite contender, which if won would make him the most successful player in the history of the Ballon d'Or. "It'll be the same [names] as usual, but I don't know if Messi will be on the podium this time. So, let's say Salah, Modric, Griezmann, Varane, Mbappe, the French in general because they'