I think every game is high pressure… ish. You’re realistically not really competing for titles (because the PL has become basically Man City’s competition, and they are generally just outright favourites to win it). I think that’s the big difference tbh. One is much more concrete, than a placement in CL, and the financial rewards that come with it.

I mean, he always performed in the CL though. League and copa were always a bit more disappointing, because they are lower stakes.

Honestly, he’s also always been a motivation based player. I think at Madrid that was sort of papered over because there always is so much pressure, and he’s always been so questioned, and real we’re always in a position to compete. But if you go to his early career, people thought he was lazy at São Paulo, and at Porto he played a lot better in the CL (and I’d say even over his real career he was always better in big games). I imagine that it’s not just physical but also mental in this case.