Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo makes stunning Lionel Messi bet with team-mates - claim

The Portuguese star netted four times during Los Blancos' 6-3 win over Girona on Sunday.

And Ronaldo's sparkling form since the turn of the year has seen Madrid move back up to third recently.

But by his usual high standards, the forward had a dreadful start to the 2017/18 campaign.

Ronaldo had only netted one league goal by November, while his Barcelona rival Lionel Messi sat on 12 La Liga strikes.

But that didn't stop the 33-year-old making a stunning bet with his Madrid colleagues.

According to RadioMARCA, Ronaldo bet with his fellow Galacticos that he would still finish as La Liga's top scorer this season.

And it appears the former Manchester United star may be close to fulfilling his promise.

His four-goal haul at the weekend means Ronaldo has 22 league goals to his name, just three fewer than Messi.

Nine games remain in Spain's top flight, but the title has almost been wrapped up by Barcelona.

The Catalan outfit are 11 points clear of second-place Atletico Madrid, and a further four ahead of Ronaldo and co.

But Madrid will be hoping to win the Champions League for a third year in a row.

Ronaldo sits top of the competition's scoring charts with 12 goals in eight appearances.