Cristiano Ronaldo believes Manchester City have a "good chance" of retaining their Champions League crown this season but also named two other contenders for Europe's biggest prize.
The 38-year-old, a five-time Champions League winner with Real Madrid, was speaking at the 2023 Globe Soccer Awards ceremony in Dubai when he made the admission.
As well as describing himself as the "best goalscorer" in world football – a comment that brought a noticeable reaction from Erling Haaland – Ronaldo answered a number of questions in an on-stage Q&A session.
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Here, he was asked about some of the public reaction to his move to Saudi Pro League side Al Nassr.
"I believe they are going to be in the top three or four in the world," he said. "Step by step, I think we are going to reach that. The level right now? To be honest, I think the Saudi league is not worse than France's league in my opinion."
As well as his much-talked-about move to the Middle East, Ronaldo was asked about the potential winners of this season's Champions League.
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Here, he said Manchester City have a "good chance" to win the Champions League again before naming Real Madrid and Bayern Munich as the other favourites.
It was almost nailed on that Ronaldo would name Los Blancos in the reckoning, but he offered more praise to Pep Guardiola's Manchester City – a team he was heavily linked with back in 2021.
“I think Manchester City has a great chance of winning the Champions League again this season," he added. "I hope not [they don’t win], but I think they have a chance.”
You can watch Ronaldo's speech about City in full below:
Manchester City lifted their first Champions League trophy in May, when they defeated Inter Milan 1-0 in the final.
But Pep Guardiola played down their achievement ahead of their opener against Red Star Belgrade in September. "It'll be easier. The hardest to win is the first one," he said.
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"For our club to win the Champions League is incredible, but in perspective, how many won one Champions League? A lot.
"We haven't done anything special with just one, but we are incredibly proud."
Topics: Pep Guardiola, Manchester City, Champions League, Cristiano Ronaldo, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich
Jack Kenmare