Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane has expressed his admiration for Cristiano Ronaldo. The former France international was speaking during a pre-match press conference ahead of their Sunday visit to Estadio Nuevo Los Cármenes to face Granada, as reported by Goal.com.
Ronaldo turned 31 on Friday and according to Zidane, the Portugal international could only get better with age. He described the former Manchester United man as a ‘’beast’’ in reference to how he takes care of his body to keep himself in fine form.
Here are some of the most notable achievements in his career:
WATCH: Zizou talks about Ronaldo's recent goal-scoring form in an interview with journalists:
In the interview he said:
"All being well Cristiano can play longer than me for sure.’’
"He feels the responsibility to look after himself and you can see it. He is 31, but physically he is a beast.’’
"He can continue for many more years and hopefully they are here in Madrid."
"I feel admiration towards him, for the goals he scores, for everything he does, because all lovers of football also adore Cristiano.’’
He added:
"Above all, I like his ambition. His ambition to always want more and to be better. He is never happy with what he has and you see that in training."
"I admire him and I hope that he will continue like this because he is an important player for me, the players and all Madrid fans."
Zidane took over at Real Madrid from manager Rafael Benitez, and has overseen four matches for Los Blancos so far this season. His men sit third on the league table, four points behind their rivals Barcelona, who are the current leaders with a game in hand. Ahead of the trip to Granada, the Real Madrid legend would be hoping that the league leaders will lose points away to Levante, in order to bridge the gap between the two sides. Speaking about the prospects of winning the league this season, he emphasized:
"The players all know we can still win the league.’’
"We all know what the situation is like and that it will be difficult, but we will do everything we can."
He also added that the lethal Gareth Bale is still nursing a calf injury and would be unavailable for the clash against Granada.
"We have decided to take things easy for a bit.’’
"He is getting better, but he is not fully recovered yet."
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