Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo added another feather to his cap when he received a special award from UEFA for his stellar legacy in the elite continental competition, in Monaco on Thursday.
The former Sporting Clube de Portugal, Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus forward is 11 goals clear of Lionel Messi and 46 ahead of third-placed Robert Lewandowski at the top of the scoring charts.
For me, it’s a pleasure to be here. Thank you for this amazing award. As you know, Champions League is the highest in football. The records speak for themselves but the league (is at that level) because of the players that play in the competition. I have nice memories coming to this gala and football is managed by memories. So, thank you for this,” he said, after receiving the award.
The Portugal forward won the competition once with Manchester United and four times with Real Madrid – making him the first five-time winner in the competition’s history – and is the only player to date to have scored in three separate UEFA Champions League finals (2008, 2014, 2017).
He holds the record for the longest Champions League scoring streak, having struck in 11 successive matches from June 2017 to April 2018. Ronaldo has also scored an astounding eight Champions League hat-tricks.
“The first one is always the special one, when I was in Manchester. Of course, Real Madrid was differently special, winning four times there. At that time, in Lisbon in 2018, I remember I felt like the most expensive player in the world and there was pressure about winning the Champions League. But I think goals and trophies are like ketchup, once it start coming, they keep coming,” he added.
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