RONALDO: ZZ WAS THE TOPS
When you've been at the highest level for 15 years, there is always someone you wished you could have played with for longer. In my case that player was Zinedine Zidane.

As far as I'm concerned, he was the greatest footballer I ever had the pleasure of playing along side. There was just nobody like him.

As for players who I never had the chance to play with, but would have loved to, my top three choices would have been Marco van Basten, Zico and Maradona.

They are all great legends and I'd have loved the chance to play in the same team as them.

As for opponents, Paolo Maldini gave me more problems on the pitch than anyone else. He's the best defender in the world and he's had a fantastic career.

It's an honour to have played against him and to have shared a dressing room with him. He's been really good to me since I came to Milan and I consider him a good friend.

But I can't forget Sergio Ramos either.

He was a great friend of mine during my time at Real Madrid and I'm sure he'll go on to become one of the best defenders in the world and in the history of the club.

RONALDO: MILAN IS LIKE A FAMILY TO ME

AC Milan have been like a big family for me. The set-up at the club is incredible, certainly one of the best in the world, and the best players always want to play for the Rossoneri.

You have to prove your worth to play for a club like Milan, you can’t just rely on what you’ve done in the past.

I have been assured that I’m going to make a 100% recovery from this injury and get back to playing. That’s the priority for now. When I do, playing for Milan would be the natural choice for me.

I was happy when Sílvio Berlusconi said he wanted to renew my contract. He was always like a father figure for me at Milan, and the same goes for Adriano Galliani. They have helped me focus more calmly on getting better.

RONALDO: I’M NOT AN EX-PLAYER JUST YET

The tendons in your knees are really strong, so when they go you know that all you can do is wait for them to heal.

At least now I've suffered this problem with both knees I don’t have to worry about it happening to another one!

Seriously, the most important thing is knowing that I have to keep on the road to recovery.

At the start, I'll admit I was afraid that I’d never play again. But my desire and my love for the game are so great, and I soon realised that a comeback was possible.

It’s not as if I’m terminally ill. I am an athlete with a serious injury who has the capacity to make a complete recovery. I know I am going to play again.

I know some people say I’m already an ex-player now. But I’ll prove them wrong. I’ve never been an ex-player and I am not ready to be one just yet. I am going to fight to make it back and to be the best Ronaldo football has ever seen.

They said I wouldn’t play again after I suffered my first injury. So now I'm desperate to return to action again, so people can see the old Ronaldo out there.

I have no doubts that I will, and that I’m capable of showing the world that the Phenomenon is still alive and kicking.

At least now I've suffered this problem with both knees I don’t have to worry about it happening to another one!

Is there any guarantee that he won't rupture his tendon again now that he's operated both? if there is, then we must renew his contract!

Ronaldo due to resume running
Sunday 22 June, 2008

Ronaldo is well on the road to recovery and “I’ll start running in two to three weeks,” said the Milan star.

“My knee is feeling much better,” he told Sky Italia while visiting the Formula One GP in Magny-Cours.

“We are beginning the muscular reinforcement work now and then I’ll start running in two to three weeks. It’s all going very well.”

Il Fenomeno snapped the tendon in his knee during a 1-1 draw with Livorno in February and was immediately told he’d be out of action for between six and nine months.

“I have moved to Paris for a while to continue the rehabilitation. Seeing as I’m close by, I decided to come see the Formula One.

“It’s a wonderful atmosphere and I am cheering on Ferrari due to my history with Italy and also my friend Felipe Massa, who is driving.”

channel4

RONALDO COULD BE RUNNING IN JULY
(IMG:http://i.a.cnn.net/si/2007/writers/gabriele_marcotti/08/30/champions.draw/p1_ronaldo_0830.jpg)

Three months after performing surgery on his injured left knee, Ronaldo’s doctors have informed him that he could be running again as early as July.

“We would normally expect him to be back running in August,” Ronaldo’s physiotherapist Bruno Mazziotti said after meeting with the player and his doctors in France last week.

“But his recovery is going surprisingly well and the tests have impressed the medical team. You’ll see Ronaldo running again in July.”

“We did an MRI and other tests so Dr. Saillant could examine the angle of the patella and how the tendon is settling. The results were good.”

Such is the improvement that Saillant told Ronaldo he need not return to Paris for monthly check ups. The AC Milan striker has been told to continue his treatment in Rio de Janeiro and return to France for his next appointment in August.
ronaldo.com