Cristiano Ronaldo has lauded Zinedine Zidane for the Frenchman’s effects to motivate him when he was still at Real Madrid.
Now, a Juventus player, Ronaldo won the Champions League title a glorious three times under the Galacticos boss. After Zidane stepped down from management for the first time, Ronaldo decided to switch clubs due to several other reasons as well. When speaking about Zidane, the five-time Balon d’Or winner said, “He helped to motivate me.”
“Zidane helped me a lot,” Ronaldo told DAZN. “I already respected him for his career, but working with him made me admire him even more for his way of being, of speaking and for the way he treated me.
“The confidence that a player needs does not depend almost on him, but on the people around him, other players and the Coach. He used to tell me, ‘Cris, rest, you will make a difference.’ He was always honest with me and that’s why I will always carry him in my heart.”
Real Madrid have struggled ever the since the duo left in the summer of 2018. Zidane returned to the hot seat last season and oversaw a summer of heavy transfer activity. His efforts lay in trying to replace the goal scoring machine who once led his attacking line with relentless tenacity.
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