Alonso: Ronaldo my best teammate

Former Real Madrid midfielder Xabi Alonso has insisted that Cristiano Ronaldo remains his best-ever teammate in football.

The playmaker reportedly caused controversy this week by implying that one of his Bayern Munich colleagues should win the 2014 Ballon d'Or, but he has now clarified his thoughts about the Portuguese superstar.

“I said recently if Manuel Neuer or another German player won the Ballon d'Or, it would be fair as they won the World Cup,” he told the Daily Mail.

“But if Ronaldo wins it again, it would also be fair for the season he had, winning the Champions League. He is the best player I have played with.

“It is difficult to copy Real Madrid as not every team has those players who can run with such explosion, like Ronaldo.

“[Winning the Champions League] is one of the targets of the club and, personally, it would be a great achievement.

“I would never have dreamed I could be this close but I think we have a good enough team to fight for all the titles.

“It will be difficult as you are fighting against Madrid, Barcelona, Chelsea, PSG, Juventus. Top clubs in Europe. We will see if we meet the challenge.”

Alonso then reflected on his achievements with Spain and felt that their 'strong spine' and dominant midfield was the key to their success.

“We had a strong spine. It wasn't about one man,” he added.

“It started with Iker [Casillas]. He was key in at Euro 2008, then the World Cup, as was [Carles] Puyol. Then there was Sergio Ramos…

“When Sergio is on top of his game mentally, he's one of the best. In midfield we had [David] Silva, Xavi, [Andres] Iniesta, myself. Playing with so many midfielders was our strength.

“We didn't have great players in one-against-one situations. It took a lot of short passes to create the last chance. When we did, we had David Villa and Fernando Torres, who were on top form.”

Tags Cristiano Ronaldo Xabi Alonso
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