Cristiano Ronaldo had warm words for former club Real Madrid as they turned 122 years old on Tuesday - and he couldn't help resurrect memories of beating Liverpool in the Champions League.

The Portuguese superstar spent nine seasons with Los Blancos between 2009 and 2018, joining from Manchester United and leaving for Juventus. 

In that time he procured four Champions League crowns, including one on a night marked by Gareth Bale heroics and Loris Karius howlers in 2018.

Ronaldo stuck a photo from that night front and centre of a tribute to Real Madrid on their birthday. 

'Congratulations on these 122 years of history, Madrid family! Go Madrid!' he wrote on X, formerly Twitter. 

Real Madrid were formed in 1902 and lost their first match 3-1 to Barcelona in the semi-finals of the Copa de la Coronacion, a forerunner to the Copa del Rey. 

The verified oldest person ever lived to 122 years old as well, if that's some indication of Madrid's longevity. 

The club marked the landmark with a long-winded statement exploring their various ahcievements on and off the pitch over the years. 

One of the freshest in the memory is that success in Kyiv in 2018 when Karim Benzema opened the scoring and Gareth Bale struck twice - including a breathtaking overhead kick - as they ran out 3-1 winners over LIverpool. 

While Sadio Mane gave Reds fan a brief jolt of equalisation ecstacy, it is remembered as a sorrowful night for goalkeeper Karius, who gifted Benzema the ball for his goal and allowed a long-range drive from Bale to slip through his fingers. 

That was also Ronaldo's fifth Champions League title as he had won one with Manchester United in 2008. He has not won one since.