Zidane agrees with Ronaldo's 'best player in history' claim

Zinedine Zidane agrees with Cristiano Ronaldo's bold claim that he is the "best player in history" following the Real Madrid star's record-equalling fifth Ballon d'Or triumph on Thursday.

Ronaldo beat Lionel Messi and Neymar to the prestigious individual gong, moving level on five with his Argentinian rival.

And the Portugal international came out with the assertion that his victory makes him the best footballer in history, claiming that there is nobody who can do what he does.

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When asked if he agreed, Zidane said: "Yes. There are lots of players who have been very successful in this club, but no one has achieved what he has, and what he's still going to achieve.

"I think he's the best player in the world. It's easy to praise Ronaldo, though there's little more that can be said.

"You can see what he contributes to game every time he pays – he's phenomenal.

"Just the other day I was chatting with a few people and said that a player who plays 15 years here will not achieve what Ronaldo has.

"He's made history here and will hopefully stay until he decides to hang up his boots."

Ronaldo often finds himself the subject of speculation that he is not happy in Madrid and is angling for a move away, but Zidane insists such stories are pure fiction.

"He will always be here," Zidane said. "There's always that same debate with Ronaldo, if he's happy or not.

"People just want to ruffle his feathers, upset Real Madrid and those working here. He's happy here, playing for the best club in the word.

"There's no debate, he came out and said so himself. We shouldn't read too much into anything else now."