Even though his side is basking in the glory of their third successive Champions League title triumph, Real Madrid’s talismanic superstar Cristiano Ronaldo may well have played his last game for the Spanish giants.
Soon after winning his fourth Champions League crown with the Madrid giants after they outclassed Liverpool 3-1 in Saturday night’s much-anticipated final in Kiev, the Portuguese forward has dropped a big hint of his possible departure for a greener pasture in the coming days.
Soon after the crowning glory, Ronaldo told television network beIN Sports, “Right now we need to enjoy ourselves but in the next few days I’ll give an answer to the fans who have always been by my side. It was beautiful to be at Real Madrid.” Then he added, “The future of any Madrid player is not important, we have just made history.”
Ronaldo, who is Real’s all-time top scorer, was asked to elaborate further on his ‘future’ but he chose to remain ambiguous with his answers. “I don’t have any doubts, it’s not important, I have to rest now, go and meet up with the Portugal team and in the next few weeks [I’ll make an announcement].”
The 33-year-old Portuguese, who will join his country’s World Cup squad for the tournament in Russia soon, became the first player to win five Champions League titles since the competition changed the format in 1992, including one with Manchester United. He, however, failed to find his name in the scoring list despite netting heavily and more regularly during the previous matches in the tournament.
“Who’s disappointed? Perhaps they need to change the name of the Champions League to the CR7 Champions League. Who has the most titles and who has the most goals?” added the prolific Portuguese footballer, who has scored a record 120 goals in the competition.
Meanwhile, Real coach Zinedine Zidane was taken aback when he was asked about Ronaldo dropping a hint about his possible departure from the club and struggled to come out with a proper answer. “Cristiano has to stay no matter what. We’ll see what happens next, but for me he should stay,” said the Frenchman.
Real captain Sergio Ramos also hoped that the iconic player wouldn’t go anywhere as he urged, “I’m sure Cris will speak at the end of the season. If there’s something behind this, he should come and clarify what it is today.”
“Cristiano is a key part of this team, he likes to feel loved and we all want him to stay, he won’t find a better place than here, he’s our superstar. Everyone is free to take a personal decision but I hope he stays here for many years,” the defender added.
Ronaldo had joined Real from English Premier League giants Manchester United in 2009 in a then world record transfer worth 85.5 million pounds (113.77 million US dollars).
(With input from Reuters/AFP)
