Cristiano Ronaldo did not include Arsenal among his top picks for Champions League victory.
The Champions League draw on Friday at UEFA’s Nyom headquarters saw Arsenal paired with Bayern Munich, while Manchester City drew Real Madrid.
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The draw also set Atletico Madrid against Borussia Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain against Barcelona.
Arsenal faces a challenging path; if they overcome Bayern, they’ll meet either the current champions City or the 14-time winners Real Madrid in the semi-finals.
Ronaldo, a five-time Ballon d’Or recipient and five-time Champions League winner with Manchester United and Real, dismissed Arsenal’s chances in the competition.
He tipped Manchester City as the likely champions, despite his ties to Manchester United.
When asked to name his favourites to win the Champions League this cam in January, Ronaldo said: “Manchester City have a good chance to win the Champions League again. Favourites? Man City, Real Madrid, Bayern [Munich]…”.
The Portugal International then went on to wax lyrical about Pep Guardiola’s Man City and praised last season’s historical treble.
“Manchester City did amazing”, Ronaldo said. “Congratulations on their season. Players, coach. Superb. Finally, they win the Champions League, they probably deserved it two years ago. I enjoy seeing them play.”
The Champions League quarter-finals will kick off with the first legs on April 9-10 and the second legs on April 16-17. The semi-finals are set for April 30-May 1 and May 7-8, leading up to the final at Wembley on June 1.
In the Europa League, the quarter-final draw has paired AC Milan with Roma, Liverpool with Atalanta, Bayer Leverkusen with West Ham, and Benfica with Marseille.
The semi-finals will see either Benfica or Marseille clashing with Liverpool or Atalanta, and AC Milan or Roma facing Bayer Leverkusen or West Ham.
