Madrid: Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo has no plans to slow down and feels a decade younger than his 33 years, the Portuguese declared ahead of the Champions League final with Liverpool, where he is targeting a fifth European Cup triumph.
“Right now I have a biological age of 23,” the five-time World Player of the Year said in an interview with Spanish television programme El Chiringuito broadcast on Wednesday.
“I’ve still got a long time left, I can keep playing until I’m 41. I’m feeling good, happy, I can’t complain. We are playing another final on Saturday and the fans are behind Cristiano.”
Ronaldo is top scorer in the Champions League for a remarkable sixth year in a row, with 15 goals in 12 games in this season’s competition. If he hits the net against Liverpool on Saturday in Kiev, he will become the first ever player to score in four European Cup finals.
The Portuguese has had to take extra responsibility in attack this season for Madrid as Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale have struggled for form at various stages of the season.
Ronaldo, however, did not appear enthusiastic about press speculation linking Paris St Germain forward Neymar with a move to Real and gave his backing to his current teammates.
“I’ve been here for eight years and people always say 50 players are coming here but in the end no one comes. In September people think a lot of players are going to come but the ones who take us to finals are always the same ones,” he said.
“The best players are already at Madrid. Bale, Benzema, (Lucas) Vazquez, (Marco) Asensio. They are all here.”
Meanwhile, Bale’s relationship with Zinedine Zidane will come to a crossroads when Real play Liverpool in the Champions League final on Saturday.
The pair have not seen eye-to-eye for some time, ever since Zidane jettisoned the Welshman for Real’s last 16 first leg game at home to Paris Saint-Germain in February.
With their La Liga challenge all but over, Zidane’s reputation hinged on a run in Europe and dropping Bale delivered a resounding message about a lack of trust when it mattered most. But breaking point arrived in April, in the quarter finals, in the second leg at home to Juventus. Bale had scored three goals in his previous three games, six in five including matches for Wales, and he was rewarded with a start at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Zidane, however, hauled him off at half-time, with Real trailing Juve 0-2. At best, it seemed the Frenchman was apportioning blame to Bale. At worst, it seemed like punishment by public humiliation.
“It was not to punish Gareth but something had to change,” Zidane said after the match.
“I was not happy with the approach.” Bale felt harshly treated, he became noticeably down around the squad and his intensity dropped in training.
Sources said that Bale and Zidane were barely on speaking terms around this period. Three days after Real scraped past Juventus, via Ronaldo’s last-gasp penalty, they faced a lengthy trip to Malaga and several key players, including Bale, were left out.
Real insisted they were rested but while the likes of Ronaldo, Toni Kroos, Luka Modric and Marcelo returned for the weekend’s game against Athletic Bilbao, Bale again found himself sat on the bench.
By the time he had been overlooked for both semi-final legs against Bayern Munich, the 28-year-old had started only one of his last five matches.
“It is always going to happen in a side like ours,” Zidane said. “There are players in good form and in the team, who are playing well.”
If that was the lowest point, there has been an upturn in recent weeks, in both Bale’s form and his connection with Zidane.
A brilliant goal against Barcelona, the highlight of a rather underwhelming performance, provided a spark, followed by two more goals and a man-of-the-match display against Celta Vigo.
Bale scored against Villarreal on Saturday to make it five goals in his last four starts. It means the final against Liverpool this weekend represents an acid test.
AFP
