Cristiano Ronaldo Needs to Know Zidane's in Charge, Says Vanderlei Luxemburgo

Former Real Madrid manager Vanderlei Luxemburgo says Cristiano Ronaldo will need to know his place in the dressing room following the appointment of Zinedine Zidane as manager at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Luxemburgo was in charge at Real for one year between December 2004 and December 2005, at a time when Zidane was a key voice in the dressing room. The 63-year-old Brazilian, now in charge of Chinese club Tianjin Quanjian, told Marca:

"

The dressing-room issue is well publicised. Zidane was a leader in the dressing room when he was a player, so Cristiano Ronaldo will have to understand that there will be a person with leadership and great knowledge of football in there. The dressing room belongs to the players up to a certain point, but from then on it belongs to the coach. If Ronaldo thinks he's the coach, it will be difficult.

"

Surprisingly for a former Real man, Luxemburgo identified Barcelona as the example to follow.

"Barcelona is a good example in showing that Messi is just a player," he explained. "He was a player with Guardiola there and he is still a player, just like Neymar. He's a star but he's still a player—the line is drawn."

[h/t Marca]