Real Madrid's Jese Will Be 'Better Than Cristiano' One Day, Says Former Coach

You're playing with fire when you string together the words "better than Cristiano."

But Deogracia Martin, a former coach of Real Madrid forward Jese, has heaped praise on the 22-year-old teammate of reigning Ballon d'Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo.

Martin mentored the Spaniard at AD Huracan in Las Palmas between 2005 and 2007, reports Diego Felix for AS.

"He plays with his heart and is pure talent," Martin says. "In a few years, he will show that he is better than Cristiano. At the moment he’s better than him on a one-on-one situation. You could see it in his eyes as a kid that he was a natural winner and pretty stubborn."

Jese joined Real Madrid's youth setup at age 14 in 2007. He has since scored 13 times in 62 appearances for the first team.

Local journalist Jorge Betancor first came across Jese as a youngster: "He was so good that he would have been able to play with adults in a few years," he said. "I don’t remember him scoring so many goals but I do remember his ability to dribble and beat his men."

Daniel Ochoa de Olza/Associated Press

Betancor revealed that Jese used to train wearing Barcelona kit and his idol was Brazilian superstar Ronaldinho.

Madrid take on Las Palmas in La Liga on Saturday afternoon.

[AS]