I will start scoring again, Real's Ronaldo says

Real Madrid's Brazilian superstar Ronaldo, who has not scored a goal during the club's last three league matches, has assured fans he expects to return to form shortly.

"The ball has not gone into the net, but it will start to shortly as it always has," sports daily A Bola quoted him as saying Tuesday during a one-day visit to Portugal.

Despite Ronaldo's recent scoreless record, which has led to criticism in the Spanish press, he is still the Spanish league's top scorer, along with Walter Pandiani of Deportivo La Coruna and Mista Ferrer of Valencia.

All three players have scored six goals so far this season.

Before the Spanish league got underway in August, World Cup hero Ronaldo said he was determined to make this the best season of his career, adding he intended to score 35 goals for the Primera Liga champions.

Last season the 27-year-old striker scored 23 goals, which was second best in the league behind Deportivo La Coruna's Roy Makaay who scored 29.