Zinedine Zidane has come to the defence of Cristiano Ronaldo’s international career, flatly rejecting the suggestion that the Portuguese forward is enduring a poor end to it. Asked at a press conference ahead of France’s Nations League meeting with Belgium whether he shared that view, the France coach denied it outright: “No, I think he should be congratulated on his great career. What he did is exceptional.”
Zidane speaks from close quarters, having spent many years alongside Ronaldo at Real Madrid. The two were together at the club during a glorious period between 2016 and 2018, a span in which Los Blancos won three Champions Leagues, one La Liga title, two Club World Cups, two UEFA Super Cups and one Spanish Super Cup. “I was lucky to have him with me and he made me win incredible things, so I take my hat off to Cristiano,” Zidane said. “I will always have great respect for him, as for all players, but even more so for those with whom I shared so much time, and in particular Cristiano, who made us win so much.”
The Frenchman also moved to downplay the controversy surrounding Ronaldo’s recent departure from the Portugal camp in Copenhagen, declining to add to the debate around the episode.
Zidane now manages France, with whom he has recorded two away wins, against Turkey and Belgium, as well as a draw in his first home match in charge, played in Paris against Italy. Reflecting on the shift from club football to the international game, he acknowledged that it “changes the picture a little,” even if the “same madness” remains when it comes to demands. “Perhaps the difference is that at a club it never stops; it is day to day, it is very all-consuming. I loved doing that, and now I have another side to it and I will try to do it this way, which will be a little different. But in any case, the desire to work well around my team is the same,” he said.