Cristiano Ronaldo took a swipe at his critics as he reflected on his three goals to send Real Madrid past Wolfsburg. ‘It’s not bad for a bad season…’
Ronaldo grabbed his 37th hat-trick as Madrid came back from a 2-0 deficit in the quarter-final first leg to reach the Champions League’s last four, the Portuguese stopping to speak to the Press after the match.
“For a bad season, it’s not so bad. I’m very happy. I continue working to get more. Anything is possible,” he said, AS reports.
“[Manchester City] are through, which maybe no one expected. Football is full of surprises and anything can happen. I’m happy because we’re one step from going very far.
“Anything is possible in La Liga. We were 12 points behind and now we’re four behind. This is football. It’s a box of surprises. We played a very good game in Barcelona, bad in Wolfsburg, today very good. It’s difficult. It also shows that in Europe the teams are better and the games are always hard to win.
“37 hat-tricks? Not bad. I’ll always try to help the team. Goals are my DNA but the important thing was the team, which was very intense. I thank my teammates and the fans. The record? We’ll see. The goals come naturally. I’d love to beat my record.
“Criticism? I’m criticised but I’m always here. I’m a kid and nothing affects me anymore. I’m 31, I’m used to it.
“Why stop if I’m ok? If the Coach doesn’t want me to play, I won’t play. But if you ask me, I’ll say I want to play.”
Ronaldo was also asked who he thinks will progress from the other quarter-final with La Liga involvement, as Barcelona defend a 2-1 first leg lead at Atletico Madrid’s Vicente Calderon, and who he would rather play.
“It’s complicated. Atletico are better in defence, hard to score against. Barca are at the moment the best in Europe. It’s hard to say. Those two are very complicated. I’d like Benfica, a Portuguese team. I’d love to play Benfica, in Lisbon,” he acknowledged, before touching on Zinedine Zidane and Luka Modric’s infamous post-Clasico picture, featuring a scantily clad Ronaldo.
“That was good. That guy has a great body,” he said, tongue-in-cheek.
“I like Zidane’s way of being and of working. I admired him as a player.
