Juventus vs Real Madrid Ramos' four-year love affair

A win in Cardiff is worth 80m euros

Who's better: Juventus or Real Madrid?

On March 30, 2014, Sergio Ramos turned 28 years old.

He blew out the candles and asked for the same sporting desire so many times: the Champions League.

His record was pure gold, but the cherry was missing, closing the circle.

"I feel lucky, but I miss the Champions League," he said at the time.

"It is not an obsession, but it would be a dream come true."

Ramos had been pursuing it for eight consecutive seasons without success.

Who was going to tell him what the future would bring, because now Sergio Ramos has enjoyed a love affair with the Champions League that has lasted for four years.

He turned 28 without winning. Now, at 31 he has the chance to win his third. Three in four years.

Now he has become the captain of the Champions League, taking great care to change the history of Madrid in this competition and his own.

He was the hero of the tenth, the turning point that opened the doors to the golden age that Real are currently enjoying.

A new era with his name written in gold letters.

But it was not always like this, there is a black history which is why he values more than anyone what is being achieved.

The main continental competition was a nightmare for him for many years.

CURSED

In his first five seasons at Real, he was out of the competition by the first of March. His bloodied image after being eliminated in Munich in 2007 was the reflection of one of the many blows.

Years later, he would help lay that particular ghost to rest of course.

From the curse of the quarterfinals, Madrid then kept hitting a wall in the semifinals.

With Mourinho on the bench Los Blancos were close to the dream of the tenth, but on three occasions they fluffed their lines.

The penalty shoot-out against Bayern or the unexpected elimination at the hands of Dortmund.

His tears on the pitch were an image that went around the world.

But everything changed and now Ramos leads a generation that is about to make history in Cardiff, where Sergio himself can get a treble that seemed unthinkable after that blow against Dortmund.

Now, with two Champions Leagues already in the bag and one step from a third, Ramos only thinks about winning.

"We suffered a lot when other teams won and it's true that we enjoy it now," he said.

On Saturday night, we'll know if he's enjoying it even more.