Zidane lavishes praise on ‘team player’ Ronaldo

Ronaldo was subdued for long spells but fired home the winning penalty to give Real a 5-3 success in the shootout following a 1-1 draw after extra time and then performed his shirtless celebration, proudly showing off his muscular torso.

“He wasn’t injured. He gave us the win, he was fine, he fought hard and he ran a lot like everyone in the team,” Zidane told reporters. “He has always helped his team mates.” Ronaldo scored 16 times in the Champions League campaign to finish as top scorer in the competition for the fourth season in a row, albeit a goal short of the record he set two seasons ago. 

He has won the Champions League three times, twice with Real and once with Manchester United, but still one fewer than his great rival, Lionel Messi of Barcelona. 

“We’re really happy, finals are always hard,” said Ronaldo. “The side was great and sacrificed a lot. It’s impressive. I knew I was going to score the winning penalty; I was confident,” he added.