Barcelona's Dani Alves says he has no personal problem with Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo
Dani Alves has claimed he has no problem with Real Madrid superstar Cristiano Ronaldo claiming that the differences between him and the Portuguese forward were created by the media misinterpreting his comments.
However, the Brazilian full-back did admit that Ronaldo was angry when he approached him to say hello at the Ballon d’Or gala.
“In Zurich, I went to greet him out of politeness, but he was angry,” Alves told Onda Cero.
“But nothing happened. I’m polite, I went to say ‘hello’ and he didn’t want to.
“I’m not worried. I sleep like a baby and it does not worry me at all.
“He asked me why I spoke about him, and I told him I didn’t, but that when you’re a public figure, these things can happen to you.
“Why would I talk about him if I don’t know him? I can only give my opinion on football.
“I do not need to talk about him or anyone else. I hope he’s getting on with his life and happy.”
Alves says he is not upset with Ronaldo’s reaction
The Barcelona defender explained that he only spoke about Ronaldo because he was asked about him.
I’m not upset with Cristiano because [the media] misconstrued what I said,” he added.
“He thought I was speaking about him, but I don’t need to speak about him.
“What happens is that when people ask me about him, I answer because he’s a public figure. I’ve never spoken of him personally.
“What happened is that my words were misconstrued and he became angry with me.”
Dani Alves has taken plenty of digs at Cristiano Ronaldo before suggesting that he is nowhere near the level of his Barcelona team-mate Lionel Messi. A few months back, Alves had suggested that Ronaldo does not influence games like his counterpart Lionel Messi and is a selfish player who does not care for the team.
In an interview with TV show Bola de Vez Alves was quoted as saying:
“Messi is much better than Cristiano Ronaldo. Messi has an influence on the play and Cristiano doesn’t. Messi is influential, he plays and assists. Messi has a divine gift. Cristiano is work. We have our battles, but I admire him. He is a guy with great dedication and he’s competitive.”
Alves also added some controversial remarks about Ronaldo stating that:
“He has things that I do not admire because I play for the team. I think that my team is more important than me. I think he cares little for what really matters, which is the collective side of the game. So much so that some criticised us during the celebration of titles while he celebrated the Pichichi (top league goalscorer award).”
If their history is anything to go by, this might not be the last we have heard of this altercation.