Now that Ronaldo's Real Madrid future seems to have been resolved and he has the support from all levels of the club, the Portuguese is in the driving seat. He now feels like the leader of the group, in the captain's role, almost like a shield protecting his team at his first press conference of the pre-season. It was an exemplary appearance from Ronaldo, who spoke about all the current-goings-on at the club with sincerity, firmness and maturity and was able to avoid Mourinho's provocations. He replied forcefully, but without entering the war-of-words.

Asked about José Mourinho, the portuguese said: "There are things in life that aren't worth commenting on and this is one of them, for obvious reasons. I always come away with the good things about managers. I don't bite the hand that feeds me and I don't talk about people that speak badly of me. I come away with the positive things. We're going to be facing Chelsea, not their manager. It's another preparation match and we want to win in order to have the best possible start to the Liga".

"They've been very good and I'm very happy, as are my team mates and the boss. They have a lot to offer the squad and it wouldn't be right for me to only mention one. They're familiar with the Spanish Liga and in the games so far they've demonstrated that they're good for the team. I've seen some very positive things and we hope they can make a contribution during the season", Cristiano Ronaldo said questioned about the club's signings for this season.