Cristiano Ronaldo always knew he would beat Lionel Messi to 100 CL goals

What’s the story?

Real Madrid superstar Cristiano Ronaldo has once again proved that when it comes to having confidence in his own abilities there is no one quite like the Portuguese. Los Blancos take on Juventus in the final of the UEFA Champions League tomorrow and Ronaldo would be looking to add to his 103 goals that he has scored so far in the competition.

However, ahead of the all-important final, the Portuguese sensation has revealed that he was always confident of beating arch-rival Lionel Messi to become the first-man in the history of football to score 100 goals int he UEFA Champions League.

Speaking in an interview with UEFA.com, Ronaldo said: “I always believed I would be the first player in Champions League history to score 100 goals. I did it. It was a goal that I set myself at the beginning of the season and, thanks to God, I achieved it. I would obviously like to thank all my team-mates, the coach, all the staff and all the Real Madrid fans.”

In case you didn’t know…

At the start of the season Cristiano Ronaldo was on 93 Champions League goals, while Lionel Messi was on 83. However, the Portuguese hit a goal drought of sorts in the group stages and managed to net only two in six games, the diminutive Argentine in this duration netted 10 goals and reduced the gap to only 2 goals.

Messi then added one more in the historic comeback against PSG, before his campaign was cut short by Barcelona’s exit from the competition at the hands of finalist Juventus. Ronaldo has been on fire since the quarter-finals, having netted 8 goals in 4 games since.

The heart of the matter

Ronaldo is currently on 103 Champions League goals and has etched his name in history as the first person ever to breach the 100-goal landmark in the coveted competition. Messi is still only on 94 goals and needs to play catch up for the forseeable future.

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Author's Take

When Lionel Messi had won his 5^th Ballon d’Or many had said that the Portuguese might not win again, especially considering her age. However, it is this goal-setting and hard-working that has put Ronaldo back in contention for the coveted prize, so much so that he is now the favourite to win it after helping Real Madrid lift La Liga and put in a position where they can become the first team ever to retain the Champions League in its current format.

I will end this with a quote from the Portuguese:

“Being too humble is not good, you have to prove you're the best.”