MADRID, Sept. 18 (Xinhua) -- Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos said on Tuesday that his side can win a fourth consecutive Champions League title without the goals of Cristiano Ronaldo.
Ronaldo moved to Juventus this summer after helping Madrid win the last three Champions League titles, but despite losing such an emblematic player, Ramos is convinced they can get by without him.
"We can compete at the same level as when Cristiano was here. We have a lot of affection for the great players who were here and we have to keep going," he said the day before Real Madrid entertain Roma in the first game of their title defense.
Cristiano was here for an incredible period in Real Madrid's history...He broke almost every record, he marked an era, but we can no longer live from what Cristiano did. We have to start again every season."
"He leaves a big hole, but that is covered with other players," insisted Ramos, who tipped Spain international Marco Asensio to take a big step forward this campaign.
"He's gone from being a promising young player to an important player, first choice, and that's nice, hopefully this can be his time. We all believe in Marco. Hopefully he can keep going like this and have a great career with Real Madrid," said Ramos.
