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What’s the story?
Real Madrid full-back Marcelo has opened up on how Cristiano Ronaldo predicted the outcome of the 2017 UEFA Champions League final, where Los Blancos triumphed over Juventus.
In case you didn’t know…
Real Madrid set up a clash against Juventus in the 2017 Champions League final. Both teams ended the first half on equal terms, with the scoreline reading 1-1. But the Spanish giants ran riot in the second half as they beat the Bianconeri 4-1.
And Marcelo revealed that the Portuguese international told his then-teammates that the initial minutes would be tough but they would win comfortably in the second half.
The heart of the matter
In his recent article with The Players Tribune, Marcelo opened up on his memories of Ronaldo and shared an incident where the 34-year-old correctly predicted the outcome of the 2017 Champions League final against Juventus.
Quoting the incident, Marcelo wrote:
“The boys are sitting around the table at the pre-match lunch — me, Casemiro, Danilo and Cristiano. Total silence. Nobody saying anything. Everybody just staring at their food. You can hear people’s stomachs making funny noises, you know? But nobody is saying anything. It’s really tense.
“Finally, Cristiano says, ‘Question, guys.’ We say, ‘Yes, brother?’ Cristiano says, ‘Is it just me who is feeling this pressure in the stomach?’ And everybody replies at the same time, ‘Me too, brother! Me too!’
“Nobody wanted to admit it! But if this guy is feeling it, then we’re all O.K. to admit it, you know? Cristiano is ice-cold. A machine. And even he is shi**ng himself!
It broke all the tension. Only he could have done that.
“As we got up to leave for the stadium, Cristiano told us exactly how the match was going to be. He said, ‘In the beginning, it will be difficult. But in the second half, we will win peacefully.’
“I will never forget this. He predicted it.”
The match went exactly as Ronaldo predicted it to be. He broke the deadlock on the 20th minute mark, but Mario Mandzukic scored a stunner to settle things before half-time. But Real Madrid were unstoppable after the break as they scored three and won the game 4-1.
What's next?
Real Madrid will play Eibar in La Liga on Saturday, while Ronaldo's present employers Juventus will take on Torino in Serie A on the same day.
