Zinédine Zidane fails to acknowledge Cristiano Ronaldo when he lists his preferred Real Madrid players.

When selecting his preferred Real Madrid players, Zinedine Zidane disregards Cristiano Ronaldo. Zidane selected three Real Madrid superstars who

most impressed him. Cristiano Ronaldo was not selected by the French coach, despite his legendary status. The players listed are arguably closer to Zidane’s personal preference. Zinedine Zidane did not include Cristiano Ronaldo, the legendary Real Madrid player, in his selection of the three players at the club who most impressed him. During his two tenures as Madrid’s manager, Zidane achieved an extraordinary feat by claiming three Champions League titles in a mere two and a half years, beginning in January 2016. He was persuaded to return to the position less than ten months after leaving in May 2018, and he remained in charge for two additional seasons until 2021. However, his second stint was markedly less successful.

Ronaldo, who had remained at the Bernabeu for nine years following his 2009 world record transfer, had already departed by the time Zidane returned. However, the Portuguese icon was Madrid’s talisman during Zidane’s glistening first spell, netting 112 goals in the 114 games he played for the French coach. Nevertheless, Ronaldo’s accomplishments appeared to be insufficient to establish a lasting impression on Zidane, who appeared to have a preference for three other players. These players may have been technically superior to Ronaldo, who was characterized by his determined single-mindedness and brute strength. “When you see [Toni] Kroos, [Luka] Modric and [Karim] Benzema playing for you for an hour without losing a single ball, that is football,” Zidane explained to Canal+. Kroos and Modric were the foundation of Zidane’s all-conquering team, and their inclusion may have been more indicative of his personal preferences as a former midfielder. In the interim, he is a Madrid legend in his own right and shares both his French nationality and Algerian heritage with Benzema. In 2023, Benzema, who had previously won the Ballon d’Or in December, departed Madrid for the Saudi Pro League at the age of 35. Kroos, who was 34 years old at the time, played his final club game in the 2024 Champions League final, and he secured his fifth title with Madrid and his sixth overall. Nevertheless, Modric remains in top form at the age of 39 and has become the club’s eldest player of all time, surpassing the record that had been held by Ferenc Puskas since 1966.