Real Madrid winger Cristiano Ronaldo determined to beat Barcelona in El Clasico and UEFA Champions League
Real Madrid winger Cristiano Ronaldo has stated that his team can beat the Catalan giants and insisted that the Los Blancos are not afraid of them.
Real Madrid will face Barcelona four times in a matter of 20 days, with the first fixture being the clash in the Spanish La Liga this Saturday, April 16. The two sides will meet in the Copa del Rey final four days later before
coming head to head in the two legs of the UEFA Champions League.
Ronaldo believes that Barcelona are a very good team and have played some brilliant football this season but insisted that his team have also been on par with the Catalans. He stated that the Madrid giants surely have the quality
to down their opponents and hoped that Real Madrid win the competition this season.
Ronaldo, who seemed to have forgotten his side's thrashing at the hands of Barcelona when the Catalans beat Real Madrid 5-0 in a completely one sided contest, said, “They are a great team but they are not from another planet; they
are human just like us. They play good football, sure, but so do we. We are feeling good both physically and mentally. I hope that we are going to come out on top in these encounters against them.”
The former Manchester United player remained optimistic after a 5-0 aggregate win over Tottenham Hotspur in the quarter-finals of the Champions League and said that the players are highly confident after the victory. He admitted
that the comprehensive victory would definitely help in the all Spanish clash but warned his side of being complacent.
“It was a good win tonight and this means we have taken a very important step forward. Our ambition at the start of the campaign was obviously to go very far in this tournament. We are close to the final now but we are facing a
very difficult rival next [in Barcelona],” Ronaldo concluded.
The 26-year old has scored a sensational 40 goals for Madrid this season in a total of 45 appearances and has his name on 12 assists. He is currently the club’s top goal scorer and only second to Barcelona's Lionel Messi in the
Spanish La Liga.