Real Madrid’s celebrations had barely got into second gear when Cristiano Ronaldo ensured he would have the limelight.
Unusually for Ronaldo, the 2018 Champions League final was a game in which he failed to be the big story. The 3-1 victory in Kyiv is rightly remembered for Gareth Bale’s iconic bicycle kick and Loris Karius’ night to forget.
The Reds were already looking the underdogs, with Los Blancos chasing an unprecedented third European Cup on the spin. And that was before Karius gifted Karim Benzema an opener and then failed to make a routine save from Bale in the closing stages.
Add Sergio Ramos’ infamous challenge on Mohamed Salah and Ronaldo was little more than an extra in a movie happening around him. That all changed just minutes after the full-time whistle at Ukraine ’s national stadium however, when he set the wheels in motion for a Madrid exit.
“It was very nice playing for Real Madrid. In the coming days I will communicate my decision to the supporters,” he told Spanish television immediately after lifting the Champions League.
Naturally, on what should have been a night of celebration and boasting for the usually reserved Florentino Perez, the Madrid president was forced to address speculation over his star asset’s future...and he didn’t take it well.
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"Don't ask me these things on a day like today," Perez snapped in the mixed zone. "Everyone has the right to talk, but the most important thing here is the club, and we are all celebrating a Champions League win.
"I do not get into a player's personal things. He has been happy, is happy, and will remain happy. It is not that he might stay, it is that he has a contract. Madrid is the most important, an institution with 13 European Cups."
Victory in Kyiv proved to be the final act of that Madrid side, one that had become history makers and record breakers under the stewardship of Zinedine Zidane. And although Ronaldo attempted to clarify his comments, the genie was firmly out of the bottle.
"I am not saying I am going, in the coming days we will see," Ronaldo subsequently admitted. "They took something out of context that I should not have said. I did not know it would be so strong. I prefer not to talk and to enjoy this lovely moment to the maximum.
"I didn't want to say that, but I'm not sorry either. These are situations which have been coming a long time and you put up with it, but sometimes you lose control. Things are not fixed with money, I have that, that is not a problem for me.
"I cannot guarantee that I will stay at Real Madrid, but this is not the moment to talk, as Madrid have made history, but neither am I going to hide. It is difficult to be at a better place than Madrid, the best club in the world, but life is not just about glory."
Less than a week after the confetti had rained down in Kyiv, Madrid’s era of dominance was coming to an end. Zidane resigned five days following the final and by the time the next season began Ronaldo had delivered on his promise and departed for Juventus. Four years on Madrid have the chance to beat Liverpool in a Champions League final again - but with no chance of Ronaldo stealing the show.
