Cristiano Ronaldo said he had no intention of celebrating when he scored against his “family” during Real Madrid’s 1-1 first-leg draw in its UEFA Champions LeagueRound of 16 series against Manchester United in Madrid on Wednesday. In an interview with The Sun, the Portuguese, who played for United from 2003-2009, said it was both “beautiful andemotional to play against my family.”
Ronaldo scored a stunning header in the 30th minute but did not celebrate because “Old Trafford [United’s stadium] is ahome where I played for six years, and I arrived there almost as a kid.” He added: “It’s not about not celebrating. I want to win but I respect the people of Manchester. If I left Madrid foranother team one day, I would not celebrate against Real.”
While he admits the 1-1 result is “not perfect”, the Portuguese remains confident Real can score the goals it needs inthe return-leg at Old Trafford on March 5 in order to progress to the Champions League quarterfinals. “We shouldn’t change the plan we have because we always have the initiative and we will try to winat Old Trafford,” he said.