Who would be the best player in the world between Zinedine Zidane at his peak and Cristiano Ronaldo?
"Clearly me. Between Cristiano and me, me," joked the French coach of Real Madrid, before praising his star forward, winner of his fifth Ballon d'Or on Thursday.
"No, they know, much better Cristiano. But it's okay, I've had a good career too," said a smiling Zidane, winner of the Ballon d'Or in 1998.
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In a more formal tone, the French coach praised the virtues of the Portuguese star, whom he considered "the greatest player in the history of football."
"There are many players, for example in this club, who made history, but what he is doing, no one has done it, in the end it is the statistics that speak for him, it is impressive," added Zidane, before predicting that Ronaldo will stay at Real Madrid "until he retires".
By winning his fifth Ballon d'Or on Thursday, after the ones achieved in 2008, 2013, 2014 and 2016, Ronaldo, 32, equaled the number of awards with Argentine Lionel Messi, winner from 2009 to 2012, and in 2015.
RLO