I don't showboat

Cristiano Ronaldo claims he is not showing off when he utilises his array of trickery, merely satisfying his own lifelong addiction to football.

Before befuddling opponents with his sorcery, as he invariably does, the 21-year-old winger puts on a bewitching pre-match show as he runs through his repertoire of tricks and flicks.

Far from showboating, however, Ronaldo claims he is simply doing what comes naturally to him. In an extract from his new book 'Moments', which is published in England later this summer, he said: "I cannot help caressing the ball or enjoying juggling.

"I used to do it when I played in the street, I kept on doing it all throughout my training and I still do it now. And I will keep on doing it.

"This is the real Ronaldo.

I believe that when people see me on the pitch playing with the ball before the beginning of the warm-up, they may be tempted to think that this is nothing but a charm offensive or showing off."

"If this is what you think then you are wrong, because I do it naturally. Before matches, both for the club and when I play for Portugal, I always have the same routine."

"In the dressing room I start to juggle with the ball. We leave to warm-up and while waiting for the physical exercises to start I keep on practising my skills. I take the ball, I pass it under one foot, and then the other, I pick it up, bounce it, in short, I amuse myself with the ball."

Ronaldo revealed that his pre-match routine is as much about dousing big-match nerves as it is for pure enjoyment. "I do it just for pleasure, but there is also another reason - to put an end to any tension before the match," he said.

"This is the way I have of motivating myself, of relieving the pressure of the match, of calming down, of pre-occupying myself."

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