Ronaldo 'repeatedly told friends he'd net hat-trick against Atletico'

If it's one thing Cristiano Ronaldo doesn't lack on the football pitch, it's confidence.

The striker netted three times against Atletico Madrid on Tuesday to secure an emphatic comeback win for Juventus and send his side through to the Champions League quarter-finals.

That, in itself, is a remarkable feat. But what makes it even more astonishing is that he predicted he would do as much in the days leading up to the second-leg clash.

According to Spanish outlet Marca, ahead of the game Ronaldo repeatedly told his close family and friends that Juventus would progress and he would score a hat-trick.

The Portuguese will have taken a huge amount of confidence in the fact he had taken the match ball home with him on two previous occasions against Atletico.

He hit three past Jan Oblak in the final La Liga match to take place at Vicente Calderon in 2017 before achieving the feat once more in the Champions League semi-final at the Bernabeu later that same season.

Juventus knew they had to pull the rabbit out of the hat to overturn Atletico's two-goal advantage heading into the second leg.

But Ronaldo, as was so often the case when he wore the Manchester United and Real Madrid jerseys, proved the difference and, as he had done twice before, notched three goals against Atletico to single-handedly take his team through to the last eight.