Agence France-Presse
Milan, May 27: Cristiano Ronaldo insisted after his arrival here Friday that personal goals will be put to one side as Real Madrid seek to embellish their incredible European record with victory over Atletico Madrid in the Champions League final here Saturday.
Ronaldo, a three-time ‘World Player of the Year’, has never scored a goal at the San Siro but has the chance to match and surpass his own record of scoring 17 Champions League goals in a season.
But then the Portuguese superstar stated winning an 11th crown is far more important than who hits the net at the San Siro.
“It would be nice to equal or even pass the (scoring) record, but I am not obsessed with that because the most important thing is to win,” Ronaldo said when asked about adding to his 16-goal tally in the competition this season.
Atletico’s achievements may pale in comparison to Real, but the threat from Diego Simeone’s men, who have restricted Real to only one win in their past 10 meetings since the 2014 final, is a real fact.
Ronaldo, however, stated that past history doesn’t matter in such crunch games. “It all boils down to taking your chance. We are all aware of that… doesn’t matter who it is, we will strike at the opportune moment,” added the talismanic striker.
Yet only two years after Lisbon, Simeone’s men are back having stunned Barcelona in the quarterfinals, and then pipping Bayern Munich.
Simeone stated that the key to beating Real will be breaking down a solid defence and making sure his players remain vigilant at set-pieces.
“Real are different to Barcelona and Bayern; they’re a much more direct team who are a massive threat from set-pieces,” said Simeone.
“We’ll be ready and will look to play the game on our terms. Fingers crossed, that will be enough for us to do what we want, which is to win,” added the former Argentina defender.
Atletico have recorded 35 clean sheets in 56 games this season, including shutouts at home to Barcelona and Bayern Munich. They also managed a 1-0 win at Real’s Santiago Bernabeu to inflict Zidane’s only La Liga defeat in four months in charge when the sides last met in February.
Ronaldo, who suffered an injury scare in recent days, admitted: “Atletico always play the same way. We know there will be very few opportunities because they all play behind the ball. So we have to utilise whatever chances that come our way.”
