Real Madrid legend Zinedine Zidane has lavished praise on Cristiano Ronaldo, saying that the Portuguese’s relentless desire to succeed surprises even him.

Ronaldo has enjoyed a remarkable season with Los Blancos, having scored 47 goals in all competitions. A league-leading 36 of those goals have come in La Liga which have helped Carlo Ancelotti’s men stay close to leaders Barcelona in the race for the title.




Zidane spent five years at the Santiago Bernabeu from 2001 until his retirement in 2006 and he was assistant to Ancelotti last year at Real Madrid as they went on to win the Champions League in Lisbon.

Having seen the Portuguese at close quarters, the 42-year-old has said that the forward’s relentless pursuit for progress surprises him.
 


“His relentless desire to make progress that surprises me”, the Frenchman told UEFA in an interview.

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“At the same time, I'm not surprised.

“The great thing for me is that he always wants to make progress.

“Even if Cristiano Ronaldo wins trophies and scores a lot of goals every season, his aim is always to make progress.

“He always wants to show, even in training, that he wants to win. It's incredible.

“That's what makes him stay at the top – it's his ambition to be the best.”

Ronaldo will look to add to his goal tally in the coming weeks as Real Madrid try to close the gap on Barcelona.

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