Cristiano Ronaldo Praises Teammates After Breaking Leo Messi's Single Season UCL Goal Record

Cristiano Ronaldo and his Real Madrid teammates earned a crucial opening leg victory in the 2013-2014 UEFA Champions League semifinals last week and while that was a tremendous feat, moving past defending champion Bayern Munich in front of their home crowd at the Allianz Arena wasn't something many fans of soccer believed to be possible. Thanks to two early goals from defender Sergio Ramos in the opening half of Tuesday's semifinal finale however, Los Blancos proved their worth as they advanced to the 2013-2014 UCL Final in Lisbon. Ronaldo -- who was awarded the 2013 FIFA Ballon d'Or Award in recent time -- was a crucial part of the victory as well, something that comes as a shock to no one.

With two goals in Madrid's 4-0 second leg triumph, CR7 became the all-time single-season scoring leader in the UEFA Champions League, surpassing the previous mark held by Barcelona star Lionel Messi. Ronaldo's total of 16 goals in all UCL competitions this season gives him another career achievement to be proud of but while the accomplishment of overtaking Messi's previous record of 14 goals -- which he set during the 2011-2012 season -- along with the 14-goal pace reached by former AC Milan striker Jose Altafani in 1963, the 29-year-old forward wanted a large chunk of the credit to go to his teammates since they've continued to contribute to the overall success of Real Madrid. Head coach Carlo Ancelotti deserves praise as well, according to Ronaldo.

“I was looking for it and I knew I needed one goal but I was not going to be mad if it didn’t happen,” Ronaldo said of his late-game thought process. “It was a great ball from Bale. The whole team helped me. I’m really happy to break the Champions League record but what I want is to win it and we’re very excited. Carlo has changed everything. He has changed the mentality of the players and deserves all the praise.”

Thanks to his efforts and the 5-0 aggregate semifinal win, Real Madrid will now await the winner of the second semifinal between Barclays Premier League affiliate Chelsea and La Liga power Atletico Madrid, who played to a scoreless draw in their opening semifinal leg.

The 2013-2014 UEFA Champions League will be played on May 24 at the Estadio da Luz in Lisbon.