Barcelona defender Dani Alves has rubbished reports that he fell out with Real Madrid rival Cristiano Ronaldo at January’s FIFA gala.
Ronaldo was believed to have ignored Alves’ advances following the right-back’s post-Clasico claim in November that his character was “too much”, but the Brazilian insists his words were misinterpreted and that the pair were on civil terms in Zurich.
“I’m not upset with Cristiano because [the media] misconstrued what I said,” he told Onda Cero.
“He thought I was speaking about him, but I don’t need to speak about him.
“What happens is that when people ask me about him, I answer because he’s a public figure. I’ve never spoken of him personally.
“My story in football goes beyond the need to talk about people. What happened is that my words were misconstrued and he became angry with me.
“In Zurich, I went to greet him out of politeness, but he was angry.
“Still, nothing happened. I’m polite, I went to say ‘hello’ and he didn’t want to.
“I’m not worried. I sleep like a baby and it worries me zilch.
“He asked me why I spoke about him, and I told him I didn’t, but that when you’re a public figure, these things can happen to you.
“Why would I need to talk about him if I don’t you know him? I can only give my opinion on football.
“I do not need to talk about him or anyone else. I hope he’s getting on with his life and happy.”
