Ronaldo picks Real Madrid and Jose Mourinho over Pep Guardiola's Barcelona

Brazilian legend Ronaldo has said he would pick Real Madrid over Barcelona, and prefers Jose Mourinho to Pep Guardiola as he speaks out on his former clubs for the first time since announcing his retirement last month.

The World Cup-winning forward played for Spain's two greatest institutions, starring at the Camp Nou in 1996-97, and then for the Merengues between 2002 and 2007.

When asked who he would play for now if he was 10 years younger, however, he had no problem selecting Los Blancos."I had a great history at Madrid, one of respect and it's the club where I scored the most and celebrated the most with them," he told AS."I was only at Barcelona for one year. It was spectacular, but I left them on bad terms and joined Inter. I sill have great esteem and respect for Madrid. However, Barcelona do play great football and they have that small player [Lionel Messi] who does certain things."[Barcelona president] Sandro [Rosell] is a friend of mine and he knows, but the relationship I have with [Real Madrid president] Florentino Perez...I would always choose Florentino."Ronaldo also expressed his preference to the techiques of current Madrid boss Mourinho, adding: "Mourinho, I knew him well when he was at Barcelona as Bobby Robson's assistant, and he is a great person."I didn't think he would become coach, but it was a nice surprise. His results are all deserved."

Cristiano Ronaldo A Doubt For Clash With Tottenham After Suffering Hamstring Injury

A hamstring injury will see Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo sidelined for up to three weeks, the club confirmed in a statement on Sunday.

A note on the club's official website reads:

"After a medical control and scan at the Sanitas hospital, Cristiano Ronaldo is suffering from a first-grade lesion to the hamstring in his left leg. The player will be out for three weeks."

The injury blow means Ronaldo will miss Portugal's friendly games against Chile and Finland, and he is also likely to be absent from Madrid's game against Sporting in two weeks time.

But more worryingly for coach Jose Mourinho, the former Manchester United man could find himself out of contention for the first-leg of their Champions League clash against Tottenham on April 5.

Atletico Madrid 1-2 Real Madrid

First-half goals from Karim Benzema and Mesut Oezil ensured Jose Mourinho's men earned another derby win to keep up the pace with Barcelona...

Karim Benzema and Mesut Oezil did the damage in the first-half as Real Madrid picked up their fourth derby win this season with a 2-1 win over Atletico.

Benzema opened the scoring on 11 minutes with a clever chipped finish while Oezil doubled the lead against the run of play on 33 minutes. Sergio Aguero scored a consolation goal four minutes from time but los Blancos were able to hold onto their slender lead to secure a valuable win.

After Barcelona's 2-1 victory over Getafe earlier on Saturday evening, the victory over los Colchoneros moves Jose Mourinho's side back to within five points of the current leaders with the two giants of Spanish football due to meet at the Bernabeu next month.

The first chance of the game fell to Madrid on six minutes. Karim Benzema controlled the ball well before sliding an accurate pass through to Sami Khedira just inside the Atletico box. The German international hit the ball first time but David de Gea was able to make a smart save down to his right.

Los Blancos continued to look the livelier of the two sides and got their just rewards in the 11th minute. Sami Khedira sent a delightful pass into the direction of Benzema who ran through on goal before nonchalantly flicking the ball past a helpless de Gea for his seventh goal in his last four La Liga games.

The home side started to see more of the ball after Madrid's opener and came close to levelling the score on 20 minutes when Elias found Sergio Aguero on the edge of the box. The Argentinian controlled the ball before sending a vicious low drive towards the corner of the goal which Iker Casillas did well to turn around the past.

Three minutes later Mario Suarez sent a lovely disguised pass through to Aguero who smashed the ball across goal with Forlan lurking. Fortunately for los Blancos, Xabi Alonso was on hand to hack the ball to safety.

After starting to dominate play, Atletico were dealt a hammer blow on 33 minutes when Madrid doubled their lead. Marcelo crossed the ball to Mesut Oezil who sidefooted his shot first time on the edge of the box past De Gea despite the young 'keeper getting a hand to the ball.



Atletico started the second half with added impetus and could have pulled a goal back on 54 minutes, if it wasn't for the brilliance of Casillas. Tiago slid a perfectly weighted through ball to Aguero who outpaced the Madrid defence before finding himself one-on-one with the Spanish No. 1. The Atleti striker attempted to poke the ball home but Casillas showed excellent reactions to turn it around the post.

It was Madrid's turn to come close to scoring on 69 minutes when Cristiano Ronaldo and Benzema showed some excellent build-up play before the Portuguese attacker unleashed a fearsome effort from a tight angle that lashed into the side-netting.

However, Los Colchoneros kept attacking until the end and scored a consolation on 86 minutes when Aguero played a lovely one-two with substitute Koke before squeezing the ball past Casillas for the goal his impressive performance deserved.

Atletico travel to Osasuna after the international break in a fortnight's time while Madrid entertain Sporting Gijon at the Bernabeu.

Tottenham Face Real Madrid-UEFA Champion League Quarter-Final

The Champions League quarter-final draw concluded on Friday with some very interesting fixtures lying in wait for the coming months.

A repeat of the 2008 Champions League final, Chelsea clash with Manchester United in a tie that promises there will be at least one English semi-finalist.

Meanwhile, fellow English side and Champions League new-boys Tottenham face Jose Mourinho's Real Madrid - a remarkable achievement at this stage for a side who were bottom of the Premier League 18 months ago.

And of course with Barcelona drawing Shakhtar Donetsk, there's the distinct possibility of a Clasico semi-final if both Spanish giants - who will be hot favourites - progress that far.

Italy's last hope, Inter, have arguably the easiest draw of the pack as they face German side Schalke, a team currently plagued by internal problems.

Real Madrid 3-0 Olympique Lyonnais (4-1 Agg.)

Marcelo, Karim Benzema and Angel Di Maria were all on target as los Blancos eased to victory over les Gones...

Jose Mourinho has led Real Madrid through to the quarter-finals of the Champions League for the first time in seven years, ousting Olympique Lyonnais with a comfortable 3-0 victory on the night, 4-1 on aggregate.

Marcelo scored towards the end of the first half, before the tie was killed off by Karim Benzema and Angel Di Maria.

Los Blancos moved into the lead 10 minutes before the interval, with Marcelo scoring a wonderful effort. Driving in from the left flank, the Brazilian played a one-two with Cristiano Ronaldo before showing composure at the edge of the box to defy Dejan Lovren. With just Hugo Lloris to beat, the left-back completed the job, despite the France international custodian getting a significant hand to the ball.

Midway through the second half, after controlling matters for the most part, los Blancos finally got the second goal that allowed them valuable breathing space. A hopeful long ball forward confused Dejan Lovren and Cris, allowing Benzema through to effectively oust his former team by slotting the ball in between the legs of Lloris.

OL looked increasingly ragged, and with a quarter of an hour remaining, another simple long ball caught the Frenchmen out, and they were punished by Di Maria, who latched onto Mesut Oezil's flicked header to before chipping his shot past Lloris.

Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas had said earlier this week that he anticipated the home side attempting to play out a scoreless draw, but there was little evidence of such intent from Madrid in the early stages as they pushed players forward in dangerous waves.

Much pre-match speculation had circulated over the participation of Cristiano Ronaldo, and it would be the Portuguese player, installed in his usual position in los Blancos’ attack, who had the first direct effort on goal. Lloris, however, was well positioned to save the header.

Ronaldo would flit in and out of the game, but despite being a largely peripheral figure he would draw another save from the visiting goalkeeper, who had to work hard to push away a fierce shot from the corner of the area.

OL largely dealt well with Madrid’s early forays and offered some threat on the break. Lisandro Lopez, who was absent in the first leg, was making a nuisance of himself and smacked an early volley comfortably high but Cesar Delgado had Iker Casillas scrambling to push away a well-placed low drive.

After opening the scoring, los Blancos were suddenly buzzing. Lloris had to make a smart reflex stop to turn a Benzema shot over the top and little over a minute later the French striker had a header correctly disallowed for offside.

Les Gones adopted a more attacking stance after the break, but it was still the home side who were looking more dangerous. Mesut Oezil offered the first serious moment of danger, but after a flowing attack his shot was deflected over by Cris.

Lyon increasingly pushed players forward but got little change from their hosts, who threatened constantly when they broke. Benzema, moments after striking the second, flashed a shot goalwards that needed a smart touch over the top from Lloris, while the best OL could muster were Bafetimbi Gomis' shots that Casillas dealt with sufficiently.

One year ago, Real Madrid suffered a dark night against les Gones at the Bernabeu, but Mourinho thoroughly exorcised the ghosts, leading the nine-time European champions through to the last eight without any great drama.

Now amongst the elite of the elite for the first time in seven seasons, Madrid will be aiming to rubber stamp their status as the continent’s most successful club by becoming the first team to lift 10 European Cups.