New Roma coach Jose Mourinho jokes he wants Juventus star Cristiano Ronaldo to ‘leave Italy now and leave me in peace!’
The Portuguese pair will meet again in Serie A this season, assuming CR7 remains in Turin, and the tactician isn’t ready.
“He should leave Italy now and leave me in peace!” Mou told talkSPORT.
“Everybody says, and I say the same, he’s not 25 any more. He’s 36. He doesn’t score 50 goals, but how many did he score? 35.
“The record is incredible, the numbers speak by itself.”
Ronaldo has already scored 101 goals in the Juventus jersey, in just 133 competitive appearances, and was top scorer in Serie A at the age of 36. What continues to motivate him?
“I think records. He is a legend, one of the big names that stays forever in football history, but the guy motivates himself with numbers and new things,” continued Mourinho.
“He wants to win the gold ball X times, the golden boot X times, he wants to get the record from the Iran (player) for goals for an international team, he wants to not just play in this Euros but the World Cup.
“I think critics motivates him. I think he feels ‘if people criticise me, it’s because of who I am, I did what I did’.
“He still gets that extra motivation. As an opponent, you should be quiet and not say a wrong word about him as it will always be motivation for him.
“Mentally he’s very strong.”