The Portuguese attacker has talked about the risks he took playing through injury earlier this year.
Cristiano Ronaldo has admitted that he was playing half-fit by the end of the 2013-2014 season, and that his appearance in the Champions League final against Atletico Madrid was a huge risk for him, the Daily Mail reports.
The player, in an interview with World Soccer, explained the circumstances in which he was forced to play through injury in the second half of the season, followed directly by the World Cup.
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“I put my career in danger by playing in the Champions League final in Lisbon. You don’t win anything in life if you don’t take any risks,” the superstar told the magazine.
“We were involved in some major competitions and things were complicated. In the end, it all worked out well. I beat the goalscoring record.
“It look a lot of my body to play in the Champions League final and then at the World Cup… I wasn’t in the best condition but I pushed through.”
The gamble seems to have paid off for Ronaldo. He lead Real Madrid to their “Decima” and played well for Portugal at the World Cup. This is in stark contrast to the other player who played the final despite injury. Diego Costa was as much Atletico’s talisman as Ronaldo was Real’s; but he lasted only 9 minutes before being subsituted. Atletico put in a spirited performance without him, but the loss of a substitution so early proved to be decisive as the match went to extra-time
Costa has moved on since then, and has started exceptionally well for Chelsea. Ronaldo, having survived his tough start to the year unscathed, has begun the new season in even hotter form, scoring 13 goals in his first six La Liga appearances.