Brazil manager Carlo Ancelotti has now said that there was “another player” who shared the same two traits as Manchester United and Real Madrid legend Cristiano Ronaldo.
Cristiano Ronaldo only added to his remarkable legacy as one of the best players of all time after his first remarkable spell at Old Trafford came to an end in 2009.
The 40-year-old Manchester United legend had skyrocketed to superstardom during his prolific run at the Premier League club under former manager Sir Alex Ferguson.
Ronaldo completed a blockbuster move to Real Madrid in a world-record transfer at the time, with Los Blancos paying a hefty £80m fee in the summer of 2009.
Who is Manchester United’s best manager since Sir Alex Ferguson?
The former United superstar lifted the first of his five Ballon d’Or awards at Old Trafford before adding the remaining four during his legendary spell at Los Blancos.
Ronaldo would become Madrid’s all-time leading scorer and the Portugal icon lifted two La Liga titles, four Champions League trophies and two Copa del Reys.
Brazil boss Carlo Ancelotti compares Man Utd icon Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid legend Sergio Ramos
Carlo Ancelotti’s first spell as Real Madrid manager came in 2013 and the 66-year-old Italian enjoyed incredible success during his time in the Spanish capital.
The former Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain head coach had a star-studded roster of talent in his Madrid squad, including Cristiano Ronaldo and Sergio Ramos.
Ancelotti insisted that former Manchester United star Ronaldo was one of the standout professional players that he coached in his entire managerial career.
The Brazil boss admitted that Ronaldo’s “ego” was positive in the dressing room, with Ancelotti saying that he saw the same in former Madrid defender Sergio Ramos.
“And I have to say, it’s not difficult to manage the top players because usually the top players are the most professional players,” he said on The Rest Is Football podcast.
“Yeah, serious professional. I can say one of the best professional players was Cristiano Ronaldo.
“Big ego, strong personality. Another player with [a] big ego and [a] strong personality was Sergio Ramos, for example. But he is a good ego for the team.”
Former Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti explains why Cristiano Ronaldo having an ‘ego’ was not a major problem
Ancelotti left Madrid for the second time and the former Los Blancos head coach took charge of the Brazil national team back in the summer.
Gary Lineker asked the former Napoli boss about managing egos in a squad and Ancelotti believes that it needs to be built on the squad rather than an individual.
“The ego is an important part in the squad,” Ancelotti explained.
“Personal level, I don’t know. I think it’s important to have in the squad players with ego.
“But the ego, individual ego, cannot be more than what is the goal of the team. Two weeks ago, in a press conference in Brazil, I said, and I agree with this because I said this and so on.”
Ancelotti continued: “I said, I don’t want to put in the squad players that want to be the best player of the World Cup.
“I want to put players, they want to win the World Cup. And so the ego, individual ego, is important to reach the goal of the squad.”
Ronaldo made his second United exit in 2022 and the Portugal skipper has been playing for Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr since 2023.
from United In Focus https://ift.tt/7a2WuyE