Champions League: Cristiano Ronaldo desperate to win title with Real Madrid
Friday, August 28, 2009 @ 2:18 PM
Former Manchester United winger Cristiano Ronaldo is determined to make up for the disappointment of losing last season's Champions League final by lifting the trophy as a Real Madrid player.
United were outclassed by Barcelona back in May, losing 2-0 inside Rome's Olympic Stadium.
It was billed as Ronaldo v Lionel Messi in the run-up to the match, but the Portuguese was outshone by his Argentinian rival and the 24-year-old still thinks back to what might have been.
A world-record £80 million summer move to Real followed for Ronaldo, who will team up alongside the likes of Kaka, Xabi Alonso, Raul, Karim Benzema and Ruud van Nistelrooy at the Bernabeu.
President Florentino Perez's £200m spending spree has made Real one of the clear favourites to wrestle the Champions League trophy away from bitter rivals Barcelona, and Ronaldo is determined to ensure that happens.
He told Sport Magazine: "Football doesn't always go as you would like but it does still bother me that we lost that game.
"You have to respect Barcelona because they won three big titles last season and that says a lot about their strength but I don't think they were better than us. They were just more efficient when they got their chances.
"The only thing I am not happy about in my final year was that we could not win the Champions League final again but I did all I could for Manchester United.
"I appreciate that United accepted to let me go and I think that I ended my time at the club in the best possible way.
"I don't think anyone can look at my recent years at United and say that I did not do my best.
"Even after I was close to Real Madrid last year and stayed at United, I was focused in giving everything I had in me.
"We won the championship for the third year in a row and reached the second Champions League final in two years."
Real's quest to win the trophy has not been made easy following the draw for the group stages.
Real must get past AC Milan, Marseille and FC Zurich in Group C if they are to reach the knock-out round of the competition.
Source: The Telegraph