December 22, 2024
UEFA has honoured Cristiano Ronaldo with a special award as the UEFA Champions League all-time top scorer.
Ronaldo, who holds the record as the all-time top scorer in the competition, was acknowledged for his unparalleled contribution to the Champions League, with UEFA President, Aleksander Čeferin, presenting him with the UEFA President’s award at the draw for the 2024/25 Champions League campaign.
The Portuguese forward, after receiving the President’s Award, called the UEFA Champions League “special” and spoke about the motivation he would feel upon hearing the competition anthem.
“It’s a pleasure to be here. It means a lot to me. The records speak for themselves, but they don’t matter to me as much as the players who have competed in this tournament, like Buffon. When you hear that music play, it’s something else. I’ve won it many times, I’ve been the top scorer, and I have great memories every time I come to this gala in Monaco. Football, and we ourselves, are made of memories”, the Portuguese star said.
Ronaldo reflected how difficult it was to select, when asked about the most special of the five Champions League titles he won. He however picked his first with Manchester United.
“It’s hard to choose just one. Maybe the first, with United, the first one is always special. In 2008, in Lisbon, in front of the Portuguese fans, it had been a long time since we won. There was a lot of pressure. We were a team of stars. We had to wait six years”, Ronaldo said.
He added, “I won 4 Champions Leagues at Real Madrid. I felt the pressure in those years when I arrived of not winning it and in the end we did. We got into winning mode.”
“The Champions League and goals are like ketchup, once you open them, they just keep coming”, Ronaldo also joked.
The Portuguese forward won the Champions League once with Manchester United and four times with Real Madrid.
He also holds the record for the longest goal-scoring streak in the competition, having scored in 11 consecutive matches from June 2017 to April 2018. Additionally, he netted eight hat-tricks in the tournament.
The former Sporting, Manchester United, Real Madrid, and Juventus star competed in the Champions League for 18 years, scoring 140 goals in 183 appearances.
He leads Lionel Messi by 11 goals and has a 46-goal advantage over third-place Robert Lewandowski on the all-time scorers list.
Ronaldo finished seven Champions League seasons as the top scorer. He also holds the record for most goals in a single season, with 17 scored in 2013/14.
Čeferin acknowledged Ronaldo as an icon for his astonishingly prolific achievements in football. “If we think about football, we think about Crisitano”, he said.
Cristiano Ronaldo also hinted on returning to play in the Champions League. He said, “You never know. I might play in the Champions League again. We’ll see in the future. ”
Gianluigi Buffon also received the UEFA President’s Award, with praises for his ability and leadership, professionalism.
He was called a “world champion” and “a goalkeeper of the era”.
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