‘Messi keeps Ronaldo on his toes’

Zinedine Zidane has claimed that Cristiano Ronaldo's rivalry with Lionel Messi pushes the Real Madrid star to always “better” himself.

The forwards, universally regarded as the two best players in world football, continue to raise the bar for the Clasico giants, and the Blancos legend – now in charge of their Castilla squad – feels the No 7 remains an “amazing” player thanks to the Argentine.

“You have to see [Ronaldo] in the flesh, he's amazing. He feels great at Real Madrid,” he told Canal+.

“Since Raul [Gonzalez] left, Cristiano has become another legend of this club. His rivalry with Messi pushes him to better his game.

“[On Madrid's upcoming Champions League fixture against Paris Saint-Germain], right now we're the two best teams in Europe.

“[On former Madrid midfielder Lassana Diarra returning to the France squad after a five-year hiatus], Lass is a great player who left through Real Madrid's back door. He did a great job for the club.

“[On his future in management], I want to carry on like this [with Madrid Castilla].

“We'll see further down the line if I'm still too young [for the senior job].”

Tags Cristiano Ronaldo Lionel Messi Zinedine Zidane
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