Former Real Madrid attacker, Emmanuel Adebayor believes Cristiano Ronaldo would have been the difference in the second leg, round of 16 UEFA Champions League tie between Manchester City and Real Madrid.
Real Madrid currently trail 1-2 going into the second leg of the tie at the Etihad Stadium.
Kevin de Bruyne netted a late penalty at the Santiago Bernabeu in the first leg of the last-16 clash at the back end of February, with the return meeting postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
With the second leg set to be decided this week, Adebayor insists that the chances of Real Madrid making further progress in the competition have been hampered by the absence of Ronaldo.
“If you had asked me that question two years ago, I would have said yes [Madrid can turn the tie around],” Adebayor told AS.
“Madrid would have been favourites with Cristiano. Back then, they had Cristiano, who is a goal machine. He can make the difference at any moment and he would give the team 50 goals a season.
“They lost the first leg at home and it’s going to be very difficult without the fans, against Manchester City, the city, the weather but it’s not impossible.
“Madrid have players with a lot of experience like Marcelo, [Karim] Benzema, [Thibaut] Courtois and they are used to playing in big games like this one,” he said.
Adebayor believes Madrid did not fully appreciate how difficult it would be to replace a player such as Ronaldo, who became the club’s record goalscorer during nine prolific seasons.
“Without Cristiano, Madrid know what they have lost, but maybe not what they could have won if he was still there,” he added.
“I think maybe they thought they would get another player like Ronaldo but players like him only come along once every 200 years,” he concluded.
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