Real Madrid superstar Cristiano Ronaldo was disappointed to miss out on tonight’s Champions League semi-final and would have played had it been a final, according to Owen Hargreaves who spoke to the 31-year-old.
Furthermore, the pundit also added that he expects Ronaldo to be fit for the second leg.
Ronaldo was expected to return from a recent thigh injury sustained against Villarreal for the first leg at the Etihad tonight, but the Portugal international failed to pass a late fitness test.
The big name forward was not even named on the bench for tonight’s match in Manchester and it was certainly a bitter blow for Zinedine Zidane’s side, despite the plethora of talent he has in his ranks.
Ronaldo, who missed the 3-2 win over Rayo Vallecano last weekend due to the thigh problem he suffered days earlier, met up with former Manchester United team-mate Hargreaves on the touchline prior to the match and the latter revealed just how Ronaldo was feeling tonight.
Hargreaves went on to reveal that the no.7 star probably would have played had it been the Champions League final.
“I hadn’t seen him for quite sometime but he looked a little bit disappointed sitting on the bench just waiting,” Hargreaves told BT Sport.
“I think he was quite upset at the fact he wasn’t able to play. He said it was just a muscle problem but if it was a final, he probably would have played. But there’s just no risk in the terms of the games coming up he didn’t want to risk it.”
On if Ronaldo will be back for the next leg, Hagreaves added: “I don’t think there is any doubt about that, it’s just a bit of a minor knock.
“Cristiano takes so much pride in the way he looks after himself, I even said to him ‘how is he able to stay fit’ so it’s a big blow for him not to be able to be able to play here tonight, but you have to look at the big picture.”
Ronaldo is comfortably the Champions League’s top goalscorer this season with 16 in 10 matches and netted a hat-trick in the previous round against Wolfsburg to book Real Madrid’s semi-final spot.
The former Man Utd star is undoubtedly Zidane’s most lethal ingredient, but Los Blancos still have plenty in their armoury with the likes of Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema and Ronaldo’s replacement, Lucas Vasquez, all starting.
COMMENTS