Cristiano Ronaldo says he's not here to make his haters happy

Published Jan. 25, 2017 1:46 p.m. ET

Aaron West

Cristiano Ronaldo just came off a monster 2016, taking the Ballon D'Or after a dream year for club and country. He's just won another award, being named MVP for last year by Dongqiudi, a Chinese website backed by the Suning Group, which also owns Inter Milan.

In an interview with the website, Ronaldo talked about his motivations, and denied that he's driven by a need to prove the haters wrong.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BPr6R5Gh7T8/

When asked if he's fueled by haters looking for him to decline as he gets older, Ronaldo said he's not about that life.

“I just don’t care about that. I just try to do my job. Try to be myself," said the 31-year-old Portuguese. "Haters? Everyone have haters, not only me. You [the interviewer] have haters for sure, and everyone here. But it's part of the business. I go to bed every time in a good mood, happy. I sleep good every night. I’m not here to make my haters happy. I’m here to make my fans happy, because they’re loyal to me, and they show me respect and love all the time. This is for me, the most important."

Interesting words from Ronaldo, even if he's directly contradicting himself. Just last October, he told Coach Magazine he uses his haters as motivation to do better, even going as far as to say they're necessary in his life: "You have to use negative people and experiences to motivate you. I actually need my haters, they have helped me achieve all I have achieved."

So which one is it, CR7? Do you need them? Or do you not care?