Real Madrid coach insists Ronaldo is the world’s best, even if Barcelona’s Messi won Ballon d’Or

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Zinedine Zidane has insisted that, in Cristiano Ronaldo, he has the world’s best player on his books, despite Lionel Messi‘s Ballon d’Or win.

Barcelona superstar Messi won the award for the world’s best player again on January 11, winning with 41.33 percent of the vote, seeing off Ronaldo and teammate Neymar in the process [as per BBC Sport].

Messi and Ronaldo have been the dominant figures in the world game for much of the last decade, winning the Ballon d’Or between them for the last eight years.

Had Ronaldo won, he would have tied Messi on four prizes, but instead, it is the Barcelona man who pulls ahead, leaving his Real counterpart in his wake.

Indeed, it’s hard to argue that the diminutive Argentine attacker didn’t deserve the award; as well as winning five tournaments with Barcelona—including the Champions League and the Liga BBVA—he managed 52 goals and 26 assists in 61 games.

However, Zidane—speaking ahead of Real’s home game against Sporting Gijon on Sunday—has insisted that Ronaldo remains the world’s best player, intimating that the voters made the wrong decision.

“Ronaldo is still the best in the world for me,” the French legend began, as per Four Four Two.

“Ronaldo is doing just fine,” the Madrid boss continued. “He has my full support. I am very satisfied with him.

“He is a decisive player. There is always a lot of talk about him, but I am happy with him.”

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