Cristiano Ronaldo Calls Champions League 'Real Madrid's Competition'Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo said Thursday that Los Blancos are determined to win the UEFA Champions League for the third time in a row, calling it his team's competition.
The Spanish champions became the first team to defend the UCL title in the modern era last season, and Ronaldo was happy to start the new campaign with a win over APOEL. Per he said:
"It was a game that we really needed to win. We were at home and wanted to start the Champions League well. We knew that we would be up against a very defensive side. We could have scored more goals but in the end, it's a good result. We finished well and we are happy with that."[...] It is a very long competition and we have to take it game by game. First we will play the group stages and then we will see. But, for sure, we want to win the Champions League. It is Real Madrid's competition."The 32-year-old scored twice in the 3-0 win over APOEL, his first outing since he was sent off in the Spanish Super Cup against Barcelona.
It's not a stretch to suggest the Champions League is Real's competition―counting trophies won in the old European Cup, the tournament's predecessor, Los Blancos have won the famous Old Big Ears trophy 12 times, five more than Milan.
Real have won three of the last four editions―only five other clubs have won the tournament more than three times since its inception in 1955.
