‘My best is yet to come’

“I just know I can do more. At the very least I’m going to give it everything. For the first five minutes it was difficult to get into the rhythm of the game but I finished in good shape. I wanted to carry on.”

Ronaldo, signed for Euros 45 million from Inter Milan before the start of the season, took just one minute to open his Real account after coming on midway through the second half. He added a second goal 14 minutes later and came close to making it a hat-trick with the final kick of the game.

It was Ronaldo’s first competitive match since scoring twice in Brazil’s 2-0 victory over Germany in the World Cup final in Japan in June.

The 26-year-old, twice World Footballer-of-the-Year, ran out with the roars of a 75,000 crowd in his ears and he left to a heart-felt standing ovation after helping to settle a game Real had been struggling to control.

“It was hard to watch from the bench but once I got on to the pitch I knew what to do,” he said.

“I was really happy with the crowd and I think they were happy as well.”

Ronaldo arrived at the European club champions with plenty of work still to do on his fitness after the long drawn-out negotiations over the move from Inter Milan disrupted his pre-season.

He was finally passed fit to join the Real squad on Saturday and coach Vicent del Bosque was clearly grateful to have got his debut out of the way.

“It’s good for us that he’s played now, so we won’t have this anxiety over his first game surrounding us,” del Bosque said.

“I was always going to bring him on with 30 minutes or so to go, whatever the result. There were players who needed a rest.

“He’s now in the squad and things have gone well for him. He’s won everyone over in the dressing room with his warmth.”