Wearing bronze-plated headphones and an even bronzer tan, Real Madrid superstar Cristiano Ronaldo walked off the set of a recent television interview when asked about about the developing FIFA controversy.
On his CNN Español show, AndrĂ©s Oppenheimer interviewed the two-time FIFA Ballon d’Or, given to football’s top overall player, and focused squarely on the corruption allegations with football’s governing organization.
When the Miami Herald journalist asked Ronaldo how the scandal was affecting football players across the world, the Portuguese player began laughing. “You want to know the truth? We talk zero about this,” he said. After Oppenheimer continued to press the Ronaldo on the subject of FIFA, the international football star became visibly upset by the questioning.
Ronaldo concludes the interview by cursing in English, saying, “I don’t care about FIFA. I don’t give a f***.”
Below is a translated transcript of the the interview.
AndrĂ©s Oppenheimer: Cristiano, thank you very much for being with us. Before asking you about your new line of sport headphones that you’ve come to launch in the United States, we have to ask about the issue in football that has been the center of the world: the FIFA corruption scandal. How is the corruption scandal at FIFA affecting the players? Is it something that worries you?
Cristiano Ronaldo: Do you want me to be honest? Nothing about it worries me.
AO: Why is that?
CR: I do my job, I give it my all for my club. The rest doesn’t matter to me. If it happens on the outside, it doesn’t matter to me.
AO: And your teammates?
CR: I don’t know. You’d have to ask them. I don’t know. I can’t respond for anyone else.
AO: But you can’t tell me you guys don’t talk about this in the locker room.
CR: You want to know the truth? We talk zero about this.
AO: Nothing?
CR: Nothing. We talk about other things.
AO: What do you talk about?
CR: Music, women, fashion, shoes, bags, jewels, haircuts…Anything else?
AO: You know I don’t believe you. Cristiano, everyone is talking about this.
CR: Yeah but, I don’t talk about that.
AO: Related to this is the World Cup in Qatar. A lot of athletes are saying that to play…
CR: (Snaps fingers to someone off camera). This is bullsh*t. I can’t speak like that. To speak about FIFA? I don’t care about FIFA. I don’t give a f*ck. Speak about product and he speaks about FIFA. Come on. (Walks off set).
