Real Madrid Manager Zinedine Zidane: 'Cristiano Ronaldo Is the Best'

It's not entirely surprising given that Florentino Perez signs off on his payslips, but Zinedine Zidane believes his star player at Real Madrid is the best in the world.

The Frenchman recently opened up to Record about Cristiano Ronaldo's ongoing tussle with Lionel Messi for global supremacy, reported Sport.

"Cristiano Ronaldo is the best," the Bernabeu head coach said. "You can say a lot of things about Ronaldo, but in his heart he’s a good person."

Zidane admitted that the rivalry between the two—who have picked up the last eight Ballon d'Or trophies between them—is good for the footballing public.

"Messi is the opposite to Ronaldo and that rivalry is good for football," he said. "It is what the people want to see."

SEBASTIEN BERDA/Getty Images

But his immediate focus is on winning trophies with Madrid, who trail Messi's Barcelona by four points in La Liga and face Roma in the Champions League last 16.

"[I] never thought about being one day a manager. Never. No-one expected this," Zidane insisted. "Now I have a different pressure to when I was on the pitch and I could resolve things.

"I have a sensational team, I am really pleased with them. We prepare to win all our games—that’s the challenge at Real Madrid."

[Sport]