Cristiano Ronaldo: Zinedine Zidane Handles Real Madrid in an 'Intelligent Way'

Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo has praised Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane's man-management following his return to the club in March. 

The pair both left Los Blancos last year, having worked together since Zidane took over at the Santiago Bernabeu in January 2016.

Ronaldo told a documentary by RMC Sport 1 (h/t Marca), entitled Zidane, Realement Madrid, which will be broadcast on Wednesday:

"I think Zidane knows how to handle the team in an intelligent way. It's not an easy situation because all the players like to play a lot, but he knows how to work intelligently and he manages to involve all the team."

In his final two seasons in the Spanish capital, the 34-year-old failed to reach 30 appearances in La Liga with Zidane opting to rest him in the latter stages of the domestic campaigns to keep him fresh for the UEFA Champions League.

Zidane's rotation of Ronaldo and others paid off, as he delivered the Champions League on both occasions and guided Real to La Liga in the 2016-17 season.

Sports journalist Richard Martin hailed Zidane after Barcelona attempted to rest Lionel Messi against Villarreal on Tuesday, only to need him to salvage a 4-4 draw for them off the bench:

The result left Real 13 points behind Barcelona with a game in hand, to be played at Valencia on Wednesday.

Despite Barca's failure to win on Tuesday, there's little hope for Los Blancos in La Liga, and they were knocked out of the Champions League and the Copa del Rey shortly before Zidane returned to the club.

The Frenchman will face a new challenge in his second spell with Real, as he'll need to oversee a significant rebuilding job after such a poor season.

Though he has acknowledged changes will be needed this summer, he is still seeking to protect his players in the meantime, per ESPN FC's Dermot Corrigan:

Real captain Sergio Ramos is pleased by the manager's return, as he told the documentary:

"Zidane's career speaks for itself, both what he did as a player and what he does as a coach.

"He found a way to transfer the talent he had as a player to his role as coach and manage a dressing room.

"He does a fantastic and unique job, and the results are not a coincidence."

In their squad overhaul this summer, Real will need to find a balance between moving on some players to help freshen things up and retaining some of the senior figures in the dressing room.

Ramos turned 33 in March, but he's also a leader who played a key role in Zidane's three consecutive Champions League wins.

Zidane will need to carefully manage the veteran centre-back to get the most out of him as he gets older.