Newly signed Brazilian striker Ronaldo said that joining AC Milan was crucial to proving that he could still play with the best.The three-times FIFA World Player of the Year signed an 18-month contract with Milan on Tuesday, returning to Italy after a mixed spell at Real Madrid where he went from Galactico to benchwarmer. “The decision to come to Milan represents a challenge for me to show that I’m not finished. This is a challenge that brings me to life,” Ronaldo, 30, told a news conference on Friday.“I had offers from Saudia Arabia, offers from the United States, I could have stayed with Real Madrid. But this challenge with Milan, it’s a great motivation.” He described his relationship this season with Real coach Fabio Capello as “short, ugly and sad”. Milan are paying Euros 7.5 million ($9.76 million) up front for the Brazilian and an extra Euros 500,000 if they qualify for the Champions League this season or next. Milan are in ninth place in Serie A and play bottom-placed Ascoli on Sunday.Ronaldo, who played for crosstown rivals Inter from 1996 to 2002, said he was not sure how much he would be able to contribute immediately, since his playing time had shrunk at Real Madrid under Capello, who took charge last July.“The beautiful story ended badly,” Ronaldo said of his time in Madrid. Capello “had no faith in me any more, he would not let me play any more, and he never told me why. It was a short, ugly and sad story”.Capello had criticised Ronaldo for being overweight, but the striker — listed on a Milan club statement as being 1.83 metres tall and weighing 90 kg — brushed aside the claim. “I did the tests and I’m at the squad average in terms of body fat. Weight isn’t the important thing, fat is,” Ronaldo said. Milan health director Jean Pierre Meersseman told La Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper that Ronaldo was in better shape than the club had initially thought. Despite scoring 104 goals since joining Real in August 2002, Ronaldo won only one major title — the Spanish league in 2003. He complained he felt unloved by the fans and cut an increasingly isolated figure after the departure of his chief ally, former president Florentino Perez, last February. “At Milan I’ve felt a fantastic atmosphere between players and coaches,” he said. “It’s been a long time since I’ve seen such a human rapport, such a rapport of friendship. Incredible.”
