Cristiano Ronaldo is very possibly the greatest player in the history of Real Madrid. The Portuguese icon has faced his struggles in recent times and currently finds himself playing at Al-Nassr, but nobody can ever forget how good he was in his prime. It is hard to pinpoint what portion of his career was his prime though.
Ronaldo was absolutely sensational during his last few years at Manchester United. And he was performing at the very top level under the management of Jose Mourinho and Carlo Ancelotti at Real Madrid as well. The Portuguese legend was also the centre-piece of Los Blancos’ three straight Champions League titles with Zinedine Zidane in the managerial hot seat.
Someone who played with Ronaldo for quite a few years at Real Madrid was Xabi Alonso. Signed in 2009 from Liverpool for a transfer fee believed to be around £30 million, the Spaniard’s arrival went a bit under the radar. But he certainly made his mark at Santiago Bernabeu.
It is pretty clear that Alonso enjoyed his time playing together with Ronaldo. Currently the manager of Bayer Leverkusen, he said while speaking on The Coaches’ Voice:
“Cristiano made everything very easy because I get the ball, I find him and he used to do his own individual action.”
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Real Madrid hero makes brilliant Ronaldo claim
Alonso had the opportunity to play with some world-class forwards through the course of his playing career. Whether that be Fernando Torres in his prime at Liverpool, or Robert Lewandowski at Bayern Munich.
Alonso would spend five years at Santiago Bernabeu, from 2009 to 2014, and was able to achieve quite a bit of success at the club. He won La Liga, the Champions League, the Copa del Rey on two occasions and the Supercopa de Espana once as well.
One could argue that Alonso’s time at Real Madrid is underrated. He was a key part of the team that ended Barcelona’s dominance and remained a regular contributor for his entire five-year run at the Santiago Bernabeu before leaving for Bayern Munich.
SOURCE: therealchamps.com
