Cristiano Ronaldo: I'm better than Messi

Ronaldo's high point winning title in Madrid

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo talks to CNN's Pedro Pinto
• He has won the Spanish title, scoring 46 goals, a record for him
• He says that he believes he is better than Messi
• Believes Jose Mourinho is the best coach in the world

(CNN) -- It's not a phrase that usually gets said out loud, but you have to feel sorry for Cristiano Ronaldo.

The Real Madrid player has just finished the season of his life, winning Spain's La Liga whilst vanquishing their hated Catalan foes Barcelona.

He scored more goals than he ever has before too, 46 in the league to be precise, and 60 overall. Yet even though Madrid finished nine points clear of second place, it is Barca's Lionel Messi that still gets all the attention.

"Some people say I'm better, other people say it's him, but at the end of the day, they're going to decide who is the best player," Ronaldo told CNN in an exclusive interview before this weekend's Champions League final between Bayern Munich and Chelsea at Munich's Allianz Arena.

"At the moment ... I think it is me," he laughs.

Road to the Champions League final

Messi wins third straight Ballon D'or

"Sometimes (the comparisons with Messi) makes me tired ...for him too because they compare us together all the time.

Messi breaks Barcelona's all-time scoring record

"You cannot compare a Ferrari with a Porsche because it's a different engine. You cannot compare them. He does the best things for Barcelona, I do the best things for Madrid.

"I think we push each other sometimes in the competition, this is why the competition is so high. This is why Madrid and Barcelona are the best teams in the world because everyone pushes each other, not just me and Messi but other players."

Good cop/bad cop

Perhaps Ronaldo is right. The world needs the "good cop/bad cop" routine of Messi and Ronaldo to bring the best out of both them. It might be the reason why neither has set the world alight on the international stage.

But whilst Messi is hailed as a secular saint, Ronaldo is derided for his self confidence, some would say over confidence. How does he cope with the vitriol he provokes in opposition fans?

"Sometimes, you have to put on a mask. You cannot smile every time for all the people. It's impossible, I cannot do that," he says.

"This is not my type of personality. And people really don't know me. And I do it for that because I don't want every person to know me, just close friends...you know, my friends, teammates. These people know me very well. Other people, to be honest, I really don't care about that."

You cannot compare a Ferrari with a Porsche because it's a different engine
Ronaldo on Messi

Still, such has been Madrid's dominance in the league Ronaldo is entitled to feel, if not exactly sycophantic praise, then at least recognition of his and his team's achievements.

"My high point (in my career) is to win the title here in Madrid, La Liga," he explains.

Clasico win gives Real the edge over rivals

"(It) was my first time, so I was so happy because it's my best moment here in Madrid, the most important trophy. In terms of individual, it was great for me, the goals that I scored, to break my own record...to do 100 points in the Spanish league which is a record too. It's phenomenal.

"For me this is the most difficult league in the world. To compete with Barcelona, as everyone knows is very complicated and we beat them. Nine points ahead...so it was an amazing year."

In Barca's shadow?

Barcelona. It is the shadow that follows not just Ronaldo, but also Jose Mourinho, who has also had a remarkable season in Spain. You could argue it is a shadow that follows the city of Madrid around too.

"The points speak for themselves," Ronaldo replies when asked about the rivalry.

"Nine points separated Madrid and Barcelona; it's a lot here in Spain. We played better than them this year, I'm sure about that. I remember we went there one month ago and we won 2-1...nobody can do that, it's very difficult so we deserve to win the league. We are better than them at the moment, but we have to respect them because they are a great team too."

Now there has never been a better time for Real Madrid to break the spell of Barcelona. With Pep Guardiola gone and questions being raised about the age of the Barca squad, Ronaldo believes that Madrid could go on to do something special, with the Special One at the helm.

Drained Guardiola quits Barca

"As a person (Jose Mourinho's) a humble guy...he's very simple. We joke all the time, with funny stories all the time. It's great...in terms of coaching, he's completely different. He's so serious, so professional."

For Ronaldo, Mourinho has proven himself to be the best coach in the world.

Most people think that Bayern is going to win easily. I don't think so
Ronaldo on the Champions League final

"This is why he wins the titles that he won. Because for me, not just because I work with him, but he's the best because of what he does: the tactics, everything around the players, the motivation...and you know, the titles speak for themselves. He won in every country that he's passed, so I think that's great. I think nobody...two or three coaches do that in their lives, so we have to appreciate that."

The worst day

Yet the season has not been without its disappointments. It may well have delivered the greatest single triumph in Ronaldo's career so far, but it also delivered its nadir.

"To be honest, it was one of the worst days in my career so far," he admits.

Ronaldo, Real Madrid suffer heartache

"It's always tough when you lose something, when you lose on penalties. But I'm not really worried about that because if I didn't score the two goals most of the players aren't going to shoot the penalties, so I have to appreciate what I did in the Champions League, what I did for the club."

The dream Madrid-Barcelona final didn't happen. Instead we have a final that no one could predict. On the one hand a Bayern Munich side that unexpectedly fought back to knock out Madrid. On the other hand a Chelsea side that shocked Barcelona, the world, and one suspects, even themselves. Who does Ronaldo think will win?

"Most people think that Bayern is going to win easily. I don't think so," he says, perhaps remembering the battles he would have with Chelsea whilst playing for Manchester United in the English Premier League.

"Don't forget that Chelsea beat Barcelona which is very, very tough. It will be an interesting game. I don't know which team is going to win. I'm not going to bet on anything because Chelsea is very strong. They defend well, they have a good counterattack. Bayern is a fantastic team too, so it will be a good game.

In twelve months time he will hope to realign the order of things and play in the 2013 Champions League final. For now he'll have to make do with being the best player in the best league with the best manager in the world.

Should you feel sorry for Cristiano Ronaldo? So far everything seems to be going just fine.

Spanish banks have credit ratings cut by Moody's

Bankia shares have fallen 50% in May

Ratings agency Moody's has cut the credit ratings of 16 Spanish banks, a further blow to a country that is struggling to deal with the bad debts of its banking sector.

It also cut the debt rating on Santander UK, a subsidiary of the Spanish banking giant.
It comes after shares in struggling lender Bankia fell another 14%. They have almost halved in value this month.
Fears about losses at Spanish banks has hit shares across Europe.
The banks include Banco Santander and BBVA, the biggest banks in Spain. Ten of the 17 banks were also put on negative credit watch, meaning that further downgrades are possible.
In cutting the ratings, Moody's cited the "adverse operating conditions, characterised by the renewed recession, the ongoing real-estate crisis and persistent high levels of unemployment".
It also said that the Spanish government, due to its borrowing difficulties, has had its ability to provide support to the banks "reduced".
The Spanish government also had to pay higher rates of interest to borrow money on the markets, which leads some to believe it will need a bailout.
Moody's also cut the ratings of four of Spain's regions - Catalonia, Murcia, Andalucia and Extremadura - of whom it said there is only a "low probability that the regional governments will be able to meet the 2012 deficit target".
'Basically normal' Bankia was forced to deny a report customers had taken 1bn euros ($1.3bn; £800m) out of the bank, which is set to be part-nationalised, in the past week.

Continue reading the main story

“Start Quote

It's not true that there is an exit of deposits at this moment from Bankia”

End Quote Fernando Jimenez Latorre Spanish economy minister

• In depth: Euro crisis

Spain's economy minister denied reports of a surge in withdrawals from Bankia in recent days.

"It's not true that there is an exit of deposits at this moment from Bankia," said Fernando Jimenez Latorre.
Later, the bank's chief executive said volumes had been "basically normal".
Bankia, which holds 32bn euros (£25.7bn) in distressed property assets, was partly nationalised this month. On Wednesday, it said it was delaying the release of its first-quarter results.
It has the industry's largest exposure to the property market, which burst spectacularly and has saddled its banks with bad debt.
"Markets are worried about eurozone bank deposit runs and an escalating banking crisis," said VTB Capital economist Neil MacKinnon.
Alberto Gallo, head of credit research at Royal Bank of Scotland, told the BBC: "The problem is Spanish banks are too large for the government to bear all of their weight.
"You [the Spanish government] need to make a choice and just protect stronger banks, otherwise Spain will go the way of Ireland - having to do a lot of austerity and potentially incurring losses for bank bondholders."
Earlier, the Spanish government raised 2.5bn euros through issuing a number of different types of bonds.
On bonds due to be paid back in January 2015, it had to pay an interest rate of 4.373%, up from 2.89% in April. Governments have to pay higher returns to investors, or yields, as lenders become more concerned about a country's ability to pay the money back.
On Wednesday, Spain's Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy warned that borrowing costs could become "astronomical" as fears about the weakness of its banks persist.

Lagos Backs Greensprings/Kanu Football Camp

Former Super Eagles skipper, Nwankwo Kanu

The Lagos State Government has affirmed its support to the first annual Greenspring/Kanu Football Camp scheduled for July.

The state Commissioner for Youth, Sports and Social Development, Waheed Enitan-Oshodi gave this affirmation Tuesday morning during an official visit to the Lekki Campus of Greensprings School that the government will not relent in its support for grassroots sports development.

"We are impressed with Greensprings School for taking the initiative to support and promote school sports and this is what the Governor Babatunde Fashola administration will continue to back in its entirety and we hope that the Greensprings/Kanu Football Camp will be another avenue to discover the athletes in schools,” Oshodi said.

The commissioner, who was impressed with the facilities at the Lekki Campus of the school, lauded the management of the school for its efforts to revive sports in schools, while assuring them of the state's support.

He, however, disclosed that the state will sponsor some students from public schools to be part of the camp, while teachers will also be supported to be part of the train the trainers’ programme during the one-week camp in July.

“I am indeed impressed with the facilities that the school have because the facilities in place will make the work easier for the school. We believe that sports is the best setting to start sports and I am happy that schools like Greensprings is taking the lead in this and we hope that others will take a cue from this.

"The camp will give the children the opportunities to start sports early. As long as we believe that sports must be encouraged in schools, we also want to say that education and sports must go together because it is not everybody that will take to sports professionally. So for us to ensure that these students become useful we must encourage them to take education seriously,” he said.

The Director, Greensprings School, Mrs. Lai Koiki said the school decided to stage the camp in order to contribute to the resuscitation of school sports in the country.

“I want to commend the Lagos State Government especially Governor Babatunde Fashola for his efforts to develop sports in the state. He has shown himself as a good role model for the youths with his efforts to better the lives of the youths. At Greensprings, we are a child-centred institution and we believe developing our children in totality should be part of our responsibilities. We are also using the medium to seek the support of the state government to sponsor some students from public school to be part of the camp. For us, we will give opportunities to 20 students from public schools to be part of the camp on our own bill and we believe the government will also support more to be part of the programme in July,” Koiki said.

The camp is the brainchild of Greensprings School, Lagos in collaboration with former captain of the Super Eagles, Nwankwo Kanu with support from the West Africa School Sports Union (WASSU).

Over 350 students from private and public schools are expected to be part of the camp with top coaches from England handling proceedings at the one-week clinic holding between July 1 and 7 in Lekki.

MTN Football Scholar: 30 Kids to Enjoy Scholarship in America

Joe Erico, is one of the coaches at the programme

About 30 school kids between the ages of 15 and 18 years will be selected for educational scholarship and football career in the US at the on-going MTN Football Scholar tournament among secondary schools in the country.

Speaking with journalists at the Kwara Stadium, venue of the Ilorin zone of the selection of kids at the weekend, its Programme Coordinator, Mr. Tom Demaio, an American football expert, said the kids would have the chance to study in American universities or private football academy.

He further confirmed that the programme was designed to recruit young Nigerians and to also further help develop the game in America.

Also speaking at the event, the Technical Director of the programme sponsored by the MTN, Kunle Raji, said the event was taking place in seven zones of Ilorin, Port Harcourt, Lagos, Benin, Akure, Abuja and Enugu.

“Five students are to be picked from the Ilorin zone and it is part of the overall objective to make them all-round footballers with good educational background.

"It is because of the lack of what the programme is trying to achieve now that most of our best footballers without sound educational background do not make headway in their career. The game and schooling from JSS through the SSS classes must go along side for a better tomorrow," stressed Raji.

The technical director revealed that some Nigerian coaches like Joe Erico, Amusa Adisa and Emmanuel Tetteh were involved in the selection of the players.

He hinted that some American coaches would arrive the country at the end of the programme in October to be involved in the final selection of the player that would travel to the US. Selected students are to be camped in Lagos and be made to undergo football training and academic classes that would prepare them for the SAT examination to enter US universities.

‘Age Cheating, Bane of Nigerian Football’

 Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ola Sa’ad Ibrahim

The Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ola Sa’ad Ibrahim, has blamed the country's dwindling performance in sporting activities particularly football on age cheating.

Speaking through his representative, Rear Admiral J.B Oladimeji, while declaring open the ongoing Youth Sports Federation of Nigeria, 14th Chief of the Naval Staff U-14 boys and U-17 girls Football Championship at the Uyo Township Stadium, Akwa Ibom State last Saturday, Ibrahim said administrators of football should rise to the challenge of putting an end to age falsification.

According to the Naval boss the country has been portrayed in a bad light in the recent past among football playing nations and therefore enjoined all hands to be on deck at laying a good foundation for the upcoming children in order to rid the country off corruption.

He commended Governor Godswill Akpabio for accepting to host this year's edition of the championship and urged other state governments, corporate entities and well to do individuals to emulate the kind gesture of the governor.

Meanwhile, in some of the matches decided in the group stages, in the boys' category, host, Akwa Ibom State trounced the Navy Secondary School team 5-0 while Osun State lost 1-0 to the Air Force School team. Other results are Enugu 2-0 Bauchi , Abia 2-2 Delta, Kaduna 0-1 Bayelsa and Edo 0-0  Anambra.

Arsenal Nigeria Tour : Malta Guinness Teams Up With Gunners

Arsenal players celebrating

In response to the growing demand from consumers in Nigeria for Grade ‘A’ football matches, Guinness Nigeria Plc has announced that Arsenal Football Club has chosen Malta Guinness to be the Official Malt Drink of the club in Nigeria for the next three years.

As part of the partnership, new Malta Guinness Low Sugar will be the Official Malt Drink of the Arsenal FC tour in Nigeria in August this year.

Managing Director of Guinness Nigeria Plc, Devlin Hainsworth revealed at the weekend that Malta Guinness is proud to partner with Arsenal FC in Nigeria and for new Malta Guinness Low Sugar to be the Official Malt Drink for Arsenal’s Tour.

“Arsenal's great history and exciting style of play is set to energise and inspire Nigerians when they tour here in August whether they be fans of the club, fans of football or simply fans of the good things in life.  We look forward to giving them a great reception on their first ever visit to Nigeria and also  show them the passion we have for our football as well as the vitality and energy of Nigeria and its people,” Hainsworth said..

The Gunners’ will be playing their first ever game on Nigerian soil at the 60,000 capacity Abuja National Stadium on Sunday, August 5.  As the team demonstrates their vibrancy and skill, Malta Guinness Low Sugar will be right by their side.

Arsenal’s Head of Global Partnerships, Vinai Venkatesham, said: “We have a huge following in Africa, and Nigeria in particular. We are looking forward to working with Malta Guinness and Guinness Nigeria to connect with our many millions of fans in the region during the tour and beyond.”

As part of the tour, Malta Guinness and Arsenal FC will be providing malt drink lovers across the country with a variety of opportunities to interact and get involved.

Hainsworth also spoke on the new product saying: “We know that an increasing number of people in Nigeria are becoming more conscious of their health and want the same top of the world goodness of their favourite malt drink, Malta Guinness, but with a lower sugar content.  We are delighted to be able to offer new Malta Guinness Low Sugar to meet their demands.”

‘Appiah Died Thinking of 3SC Job Loss’

Joe Appiah

Wife of Joe Appiah, the deceased defender of the defunct IICC Shooting Stars, Juliet Monday revealed that her husband died thinking of his loss of the technical crew job of the 3SC feeder team.

Appiah was relieved of the job in the shake-up carried out in the team November last year.

The late defender, who was the last of the great Ghanaian players who plied their skills with the Oluyole Warriors, died on Saturday morning in a private hospital in Ibadan aged 62 years.

Juliet who spoke with THISDAY amidst tears at the Oke-Bola residence of the Appiahs, said that her husband’s illness became worse following the loss of his job.

Oyo State Commissioner for Youths and Sports, Dapo Lam-Adesina, sacked the entire technical crew of the 3SC feeder team where Appiah was an assistant coach.

He joined the defunct IICC in 1972 in the company of Phillip Boamah, Sam Ashante, and Sam Saka Abose who were all brought into the country by the late Lekan Salami.
Appiah is survived by his wife, Juliet and four children Nana, (13 years), Douglas {11 years}, Isaac (9 years) and Daniel (8 years).

He was part of the squad that won the maiden continental trophy for the country in 1976. The team captained by Sam Ojebode won the African Cup Winners Cup. He was voted by CAF as best Right full back in Africa the same year IICC won the African Cup of Winners.

Late Appiah won the laurel alongside the likes of Samuel Ojebode, Philip Boamah, Segun Odegbami, Folorunso Gambari, Idowu Otubusen, Best Ogedegbe, Muda Lawal, Moses Otolorin, and Nathaniel Adewole among others.

Desperate to ensure that Appiah survived the ailment, the management of the 3SC about three weeks ago visited him on his sick bed and gave him a cash donation of N500,000 to alleviate his medical bill.

According to Juliet, the defender was diagnosed with typhoid fever when he was first admitted in the hospital on January 19 and ever since he had been battling with his survival until the time he gave up the ghost early on Saturday.

He was re-admitted at the same hospital on February 8, 2012 when his condition worsen. Since then, his family has been struggling to keep him alive.

His wife who was been left to cater for the four children the defender left behind has cried out to government and spirited individuals to come to the aid of the family, saying her petty business had been ruined since the bread winner of the family had been bedridden in the past five months before he eventually passed on.

3SC General Manager, Mutiu Adepoju expressed shock and sadness at the exit of Appiah which he said was coming barely a week after the death of striker, Rashidi Yekini.