Real Madrid left-back Marcelo says Cristiano Ronaldo's "ambition" is reminiscent of Raul, as the Portugal captain battles Lionel Messi to take over the Blancos legend as the Champions League's all-time top scorer.

Ex-Spain international Raul, who is joining NASL club New York Cosmos for the 2015 season, scored 71 goals in 142 Champions League games for Madrid and then Bundesliga outfit Schalke between 1995 and 2011.

Ronaldo is currently just one goal behind his former teammate, with his goal against Liverpool last month his 70th in total from 106 games during his career in European club football's top competition.

Meanwhile, Messi is also in the race for the record, with the Barcelona forward having scored 69 Champions League goals in his 89 appearances in the competition.

This has opened up the possibility of Ronaldo beating Raul's long-standing record against Liverpool on Tuesday night, and Messi then immediately setting a new landmark just 24 hours later when Barca play at Ajax.

Marcelo told a prematch news conference that Raul and Ronaldo are different as players, but both share a burning desire to keep improving and helping their team.

"Both are incredible," the Brazil international said. "I've had the pleasure of playing with both. Raul was an incredible captain and was great on and off the field. They're different, but both have that ambition to improve all the time and help the team. That's the best thing about both of them."

Many feel Ronaldo is capable of scoring at least once against an out-of-form Liverpool side, given he has found the back of the net in his last 12 games for club and country. He broke Isidro Langara's 79-year-old record for the most goals scored in the first 10 La Liga games of the season following his strike against Granada on Saturday.

Such a scoring rate has helped Madrid to a run of 11 straight wins in all competitions, with Carlo Ancelotti's side scoring 46 goals while conceding just seven in those games.

Nobody at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu, though, is thinking about sitting back to enjoy such achievements, according to Marcelo.

"Everything's going well, but we always want to improve each day and in each game," he said. "We're in good form and everything's going well. We can't relax because Real Madrid is under pressure in every competition they play in. We want to be better than last year. We work hard every day to improve in every game."

Marcelo, who joined Madrid from Brazilian club Fluminense in 2007, is set to make his 300th appearance for Los Blancos in Tuesday's clash despite being just 26.

"I'm very proud to be a part of Real Madrid and making history at the club," he said. "I feel good and my aim has always been to help the team and to play as many games as possible. I'm close to making history, but I train hard in each session and I give it everything in the matches."


CHAMPIONS LEAGUE TOP SCORERS

1. Raśl - 71 (142 games) - Real Madrid, Schalke 04
2. Cristiano Ronaldo - 70 (106) - Man Utd, Real Madrid
3. Lionel Messi - 69 (89) - Barcelona
4. Ruud van Nistelrooy - 56 (73) - PSV, Man Utd, Real Madrid
5. Thierry Henry - 50 (112) - Monaco, Arsenal, Barcelona