Real Madrid boss Rafa Benitez says calling Cristiano Ronaldo the best player in the world “is like telling my daughter to choose between her father and mother”.
The 55-year-old’s predecessor Carlo Ancelotti became renowned for his admiration of the No 7, but he believes acknowledging the player as among the finest in his trade is “enough”, given the presence of other stars such as Gareth Bale, James Rodriguez, Isco and Karim Benzema.
“The feeling with the team is very good. They’re a very professional group, highly focused, work well and do what you ask of them with intensity,” he said at a Press conference ahead of Los Blancos’ International Champions Cup opener against Roma on Saturday.
“It’s not easy to find better footballers than the ones I currently have. I have no problems [with any of them].
“I really like [what I’ve seen of Martin Odegaard]. He trains well and has very good attributes; skill, speed, endurance, concentration.
“In the future, we’ll have to assess what’s best for him; whether he stays with us or gets minutes with another team.
“It’s still a bit early to make that decision, but the impression I have of him is very good.
“It’s the time of year to try and get to know my players. I’ll go ahead, testing different players in different positions and different systems.
“I don’t like to talk about specific systems. What really makes the difference is what the players do on the pitch.
“[On whether Cristiano Ronaldo is the best player in the world], it’s like telling my daughter to choose between her father and mother!
“It’s hard to say because Ronaldo, [Gareth] Bale, Isco, James [Rodriguez] and [Karim] Benzema are players of the highest level.
“It’s a problem, having to choose between them, but I like that problem. I wanted to sign Ronaldo for Valencia when he played for Sporting Lisbon, but we couldn’t compete with the offer from United.
“In England, he always suffered against Liverpool, as decisive as he was.
“Now he’s a much more mature, complete and experienced player, but I think that to say he’s one of the best in the world is enough.”
