Cruyff tells Ronaldo to avoid limelight

Jun 15 2008 By Mark Guidi In Zurich

DUTCH legend Johan Cruyff has warned Cristiano Ronaldo not to waste his talents by getting sucked into the world of showbusiness and commercial adventures.

The Manchester United star - who scored 42 goals last season - is the world's top player and the Portuguese striker is now a £75million target for Real Madrid.

Cruyff would like to see the 23-year-old stay at United but only as long as he does not follow in the footsteps of former Old Trafford No.7 David Beckham by doing too much off the field promotion work.

Cruyff, who starred for Ajax and Barcelona, said: "Ronaldo has arrived at Euro 2008 in the perfect way having beaten George Best's scoring record.

"He is now the complete striker when you look at the form he was in for his club and now for his country. Then you look at the mix of his age, progression and the qualities he shows.

"You know you have a player who will be with us for many years at the top level. But to do this he also has to make sure he gets his priorities in life in the right order.

"To be the best you have to make sure football comes first at all times. Everything else must be second. There are temptations but you must be able to resist them."