Cristiano Ronaldo reveals which Liverpool players worry Real Madrid

Cristiano Ronaldo is sure Real Madrid will not have it easy this weekend against a Liverpool outfit who remind him of the Los Blancos of a few years ago – but has no doubt the Spanish outfit are “better” than Jurgen Klopp’s men.

Saturday sees Real and Liverpool clash in the Champions League final in Kiev as the clubs look to add to European Cup hauls of 12 and five respectively.

While it will be Liverpool’s first appearance in the final since 2007, it will be Real’s fourth in five years, with them having secured the trophy in 2014, 2016 and 2017 – something Gareth Bale, who joined in 2013, admits “has blown any expectations I had out of the water”.

It has been almost nine years since fellow forward Ronaldo, Real’s record goalscorer, was signed from Manchester United.

The 33-year-old Portugal star says he would rather it was his old club playing in Saturday’s game than Liverpool – and has given an interesting assessment in terms of the sides who will be involved in the showpiece.

Ronaldo said in quotes reported by en.as.com on Tuesday: “Finals are always special occasions.

“I would have preferred it to be Manchester United. But Liverpool deserve respect. We’re not going to have it easy. They deserve to be in the final.

“They remind me of Madrid three or four years ago. Their three front players (Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane), they’re very quick… They are powerful in attack and I respect them. But Madrid are better.

“We have to play to our level, but we also have to respect the opposition.”

Real won the first five European Cup finals, between 1956 and 1960, and since then Ajax (1971-73) and Bayern Munich (1974-76) are the only clubs to have claimed the trophy three years in a row.

 

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Their boss Zinedine Zidane is aiming to become the first coach to win the trophy three successive times, while Ronaldo could become the first player since the competition became known as the Champions League (from 1992-93 onwards) to win it five times, having first triumphed with United in 2008.

Ronaldo, who last weekend returned to action in Real’s final game of the LaLiga season after an ankle injury, added: “It would be an historic moment.

“We are excited as a team. You can see it around the training ground: we’re not conscious of how historic it would be because everybody is completely focused on the game. But, afterwards, if everything goes well, we will enter into the history books.

“I’m confident, I’m feeling fit and I can see my team-mates are all geared up. If I win a fifth it would be amazing.”