Cristiano Ronaldo has poured scorn on his critics after blasting Real Madrid into the semi-finals for a sixth straight season.
The Portuguese fired a hat-trick to earn at 3-0 win on the night and a 3-2 aggregate victory over Wolfsburg on a memorable evening at the Bernabeu, earning the adulation of the notoriously hard-to-please home fans who ended the night chanting his name.
And the club’s all-time leading goalscorer believes his latest feat is the perfect riposte to those who had suggested he was below his best earlier in the season, including a small number of supporters who jeered him during the home defeat to Atletico Madrid in February.
Ronaldo had been criticised for scoring the majority of his goals against lower-class opposition while failing to deliver on big occasions, but he has put that theory to bed by scoring the winner in the Clasico against Barcelona and now adding Tuesday’s hat-trick.
He said: “Considering this has been a ‘bad’ season for me, it has not been that bad. People can criticise me but I just keep on going and the numbers are there for all to see. I am very happy and with a month left of the season I can get even better.”
The 31-year-old has 16 goals in the Champions League this season, one short of his competition record of 17 which he set when Madrid were champions two years ago.
With 46 goals in all competitions, he is also rapidly closing in on a half-century of goals for the sixth consecutive season, something never previously achieved in Spanish football.
He added: “I will always try to help with goals and assists. Goals are in my DNA and I love scoring, as everyone knows.”
Ronaldo also heaped praise on boss Zinedine Zidane, who was under pressure following a poor first leg showing in Wolfsburg.
“I like Zidane a lot,” he said. “I like his personality and the way we train with him.”
