Cris not wrong

Sir Alex Ferguson has defended Cristiano Ronaldo’s showmanship and insists the Portuguese winger would never disrespect his opponents.

Roma’s combative midfielder David Pizarro claimed the United star is “arrogant”. He was quoted in the English press, saying: "Despite the fact that he is a great champion, he is arrogant. This is the ugliest thing for a player. In the return leg, I will have something to say to him."

Sir Alex feels that Ronaldo’s flicks and tricks should be understood as an expression of talent rather than needless flamboyance. The same way a quick player uses his pace to the fullest, or a tough-tackling midfielder won’t pull out of a 50-50 challenge. Ronaldo’s skill is the only way he knows how to play.

“He just tries to express his talent,” said the United boss. “The boy has the confidence and courage to do it and, as far as I'm concerned, he can carry on doing that. People pay £40-£50 to see him play. That may be annoying to an opponent because he’s prepared to take the ball to them and show his talent.

“But at the end of the day he is a winner. You can’t kick him out of the game because he will always get up and play. The most important message he is giving out is that this is a great player that isn’t afraid to take the ball and beat men. That’s what he’s saying. And in whatever fashion he does it, I don’t care.

"It’s about having the ability and expression in his play to be able to do it. We encourage it with all the players here. In the modern day it’s a breath of fresh air to see players that won’t be intimidated by opponents. I say keep on doing it.”

Ronaldo’s fellow countryman, Nani, was accused by Arsene Wenger of disrespecting Arsenal’s players by juggling with the ball during United's 4-0 FA Cup win at Old Trafford earlier this year. At the time Sir Alex sympathised with Wenger, but has since watched the footage again and says there was nothing wrong with it.

“I looked at the video again, and I don’t see that Nani was showboating,” he said. “He was under pressure and he kept the ball up. I’ve seen many players do that. Thierry Henry did it against Southampton in a cup final if I remember correctly. We don’t encourage our players to humiliate opponents - that’s important. But fans want to see players show talent like his. It’s great to see players developing their game so that they can use skill in a big game. We don't want that to change.”

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