Cristiano Ronaldo believes Real Madrid is capable of becoming the first team to successfully defend the Champions League.
No club has retained the European Cup since the revamped format was introduced by UEFA for the 1992-93 season, AC Milan in 1990 being the last side to win the famous trophy back to back.
Madrid is the most successful team in the competition’s history, winning two of the last three tournaments to secure their 10th and 11th continental titles.
They begin their latest campaign at home to Ronaldo’s former club Sporting CP today.
And the star forward feels the team, coached by Zinedine Zidane, can progress to the latter stages yet again.
“It’s a challenge, it’s a great challenge, and I think at Real Madrid we have a chance to win it again,” he stated.
“We know it’s a very difficult competition, but nothing is easy so we’ll try.
“We’ll take it match by match, and first think about the group stage, as in my opinion it’s a strong group,” he added, with Madrid, in addition to Sporting, drawn against Borussia Dortmund and Legia Warsaw in Group F.
“We’ll see how the competition unfolds. But think positive – that it’s possible to win it again.”
Adding Euro 2016 glory with Portugal to a third Champions League success has left Ronaldo acclaiming the previous season as a personal high point.
“In terms of trophies it was possibly the best year of my career,” he said.