Overworked Ronaldo claims he is close to best

BARCELONA — Cristiano Ronaldo admits that he suffered for pushing himself too much at the end of last season but is now close to his best as Real Madrid prepare to face Real Sociedad on Sunday.

The Portuguese forward, who was named UEFA’s Best Player in Europe on Thursday, suffered knee problems at the end of the last campaign and was not fully recovered by the World Cup.

Ronaldo will be rested for Real Madrid’s trip to Real Sociedad to allow him fully recover from injuries, coach Carlo Ancelotti said on Saturday.

The Portuguese has struggled with injuries since the back end of last season and has also not been called up by Portugal for the upcoming international break, which means almost three weeks off for the mercurial 29-year-old.

“He is okay but we have preferred to use this week and the following two for him to recover fully and get him in top condition. He will not play tomorrow and is not in the squad,” Ancelotti told a news conference in Madrid.

Ronaldo has recovered from the knee injury that affected him at the end of the last campaign but was also not 100 per cent at the World Cup in Brazil.

Of late, he has been troubled with a hamstring strain he picked up in the defeat by Atletico Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup.

His absence means James Rodriguez is likely to play in the three-man attack alongside Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema with Isco slotting into the midfield.

Real have been weakened by the departures of Angel Di Maria and Xabi Alonso this week, and Ancelotti admitted he was taken aback by the decision of the latter to go to Bayern Munich.

“It was a surprise. Everything was calm and so we were a bit surprised but we respect him a lot. Alonso is a very honest person with himself and with the Real Madrid,” said the Italian.

“He explained it well and said that he needed more motivation. Everyone here at the club respects him and it would have been very difficult to get him to change his mind. You can’t say to a player like Xabi that he couldn’t leave. I wish him luck and he has been a very important player for the team last season.

“It is possible that some people think that the team is under-strength but we have players that can perform in different positions. We have five strikers because Isco and James [Rodriguez] can play there.

“The squad is not closed because the market is still open. Maybe we will sign somebody but at the same time it is possible we won’t.”

“In life you don’t win without making sacrifices and you have to take risks at times. Perhaps in other circumstances I would have acted differently,” Ronaldo told Marca.

Ronaldo played a key role as Real finally won their 10th European Cup crown following a 12-year wait, setting a new Champions League scoring record along the way with 17 goals.

“We were involved in important competitions with the Champions League and then the World Cup,” he added.

“Things went well and I beat the record of goals in the Champions League. I then had holidays where I could rest a month and only had treatment and looked after my body.

“Then there were ups and downs in pre-season which is normal with the Real Madrid tour, the trips, the tiredness and jet-lag. All this means that you can’t work well.

“Last week I was running okay but I still need some days to be at my best although it will be soon.

“Clearly I did [force myself too much]. I should probably have stopped and now I would be fine.”

Real have made an inconsistent start to the season as following an impressive victory in the European Super Cup over Sevilla, they then lost the domestic version to Atletico Madrid.

They won their first match of the La Liga season last weekend against newly promoted Cordoba but it was not a strong display and they lacked rhythm and pace through midfield and attack.

Jaded Atletico

Carlo Ancelotti’s side are now having to come to terms with the loss of Angel Di Maria and Xabi Alonso, who have joined Manchester United and Bayern Munich this week and were fundamental players in the side last season.

“I will miss all the good players that go like Di Maria and Xabi Alonso. The president knows better than anyone what he is doing and we have good players here to help us keep winning,” Ronaldo added.

Atletico Madrid appeared to be suffering the effects of their two-legged Super Cup win over Real as they lacked intensity in their draw away to Rayo Vallecano and will be looking to bounce back against Eibar.

“We have the same ambitions as last year. We know that we have to be at our top level and ready,” forward Raul Garcia told a news conference.

“Last year, people said the team wasn’t strong enough physically and we proved them wrong.”

Barcelona, under new coach Luis Enrique, made a bright start with a convincing 3-0 win over Elche with Lionel Messi scoring twice. They next take on Villarreal.

“I know the team well and Marcelino was my trainer at Sevilla,” Barca midfielder Ivan Rakitic said.

“His philosophy is to have a strong team, work hard on the physical side and prepare the side well. We know that it will be a very difficult game but we are in a positive mood.”