Cristiano Ronaldo has made a bold prediction about who he thinks will win the Champions League this year, as he accepted two honors at the Dubai Global Soccer Awards.
The Portuguese icon has lifted the prestigious European trophy five times in a glittering career, first tasting glory with Manchester United in the 2007-08 final against Chelsea.
He went on to win the Champions League four times with Real Madrid, a club for which he scored 450 goals in 438 games over nine years.
Ronaldo has continued his goalscoring exploits since leaving the Bernabeu in 2018, scoring 101 goals for Juventus and 74 so far for current club Al-Nassr.
Last night, he picked up the awards for Best Middle East Player and All-Time Top Goalscorer at a dazzling gala at the Dubai Global Soccer Awards.
And after taking the stage, he gave his opinion on some of football's biggest issues and backed one of his former teams to lift the Champions League in May.
Cristiano Ronaldo made a bold prediction about who will win the Champions League
The Portuguese won the famous trophy four times with the white team between 2009 and 2018
His former team is struggling in the tournament this season and is dangerously in 20th place.
The 39-year-old said: “Teams always have their good and bad moments. Now Manchester City have gone through a bad moment but they will come back.
“I would tell City to its players that they have to show more and not talk now. The great players know where the problem is.
'As for Madrid, in the end they are always there, they can never be considered dead. I would bet on Real Madrid to win the Champions League again, because all the other teams are afraid when they play against Madrid at the Bernabéu.
'I would bet on Madrid because they always come back. “They had difficulties at first, but then they have improved.”
Real Madrid currently sit 20th in the Champions League with just nine points from six games, which puts them in the play-off zone 9-24.
They have endured a difficult season in their signature competition, but achieved a confidence-building victory over Atalanta earlier this month.
Ronaldo also shed light on the managerial acumen of Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti, who coached the Portuguese at Los Blancos between 2013 and 2015.
“When people ask me why Carlo is a good coach, I always say that he knows how to negotiate with players one by one,” he added.
Real coach Carlo Ancelotti has been attacked lately, but Ronaldo defended him
He lifted two titles at the Dubai Global Soccer Awards after a large number of goals with Al-Nassr
Ronaldo also claimed that he could be the man to change Manchester United's fortunes.
'That is key to achieving success, which is why it is no coincidence that he has won everything. In addition to being a good man, he is a very intelligent guy.
In a remarkably revealing interview, the legend also incredibly launched the idea of returning to manchester united for the third time, but this time as owner of the club.
He also backed Rubén Amorim, insisting that his compatriot is not to blame for the Old Trafford club's current problems.
Amorim is starting to feel the pressure after United dropped to 14th in the Premier League following a 2-0 defeat to Wolves on Boxing Day, but Ronaldo has hinted he knows what needs to happen to wake up the fans. sleeping giants
On Friday, Ronaldo insisted a significant overhaul would be needed for the club to return to its former glory.
“(The) Premier League is the most difficult league in the world,” he said.
'All teams are good, all teams fight, all teams run, all teams are strong. Football is different now. There are no easy games anymore.
'They need, I said it a year and a half ago, and I will continue to say it: the problem is not the coaches, it's like… I always give this example… it's like an aquarium.
The 39-year-old player attended the Globe Soccer Awards ceremony this Friday accompanied by his partner, Georgina Rodríguez.
Ronaldo's ill-fated return to United ended bitterly in 2022, after he publicly criticized the way the club was run.
'If you have the fish inside and it is sick and you take it out, solve the problem and put it back in an aquarium, you will get sick again.
'Manchester United's problem is the same. The problem is not always the coach. It's much more than that.'
As well as highlighting the problems he believes have caused the club to stagnate in recent years, Ronaldo also made the bold claim that he could personally be the man to fix them.
He continued: “If I am the owner of the club, I will set the record straight and correct whatever is wrong there.”