In a recent post on his website, Ronaldo talks about the Selecao, his hard work during training and the final stages of his recovery.

“In order to go back to the Seleção, I first need to get myself sorted with a club, and I need to get back to playing my best game again.”

“I’m not going to be called up because of my history or because of my sponsors. These things have nothing to do with it. I have to be fit and I have to show that I deserve a call-up.”

“All the sacrifices that I am making now are being made because I still have this dream. But I’m not yet in the final stage of my recovery. I’m still re-training my muscles and am just beginning to hone my speed.”

“The other day at Flamengo I was training with the players who had not played in the previous day’s match. We were doing one-on-one exercises, and they put Juan [Maldonado, Brazil’s international left-back] up against me.”

“Of course I could feel that I’m still short. But I want these difficult challenges to test me. I have to prepare for the kind of tests that I’ll face in competitive matches.”