Zinedine Zidane ignores Cristiano Ronaldo when naming favourite Real Madrid players | OneFootball

Zinedine Zidane didn't name Real Madrid legend Cristiano Ronaldo when listing the three players he worked with at the club that impressed him the most.

Zidane had two spells as Madrid boss, incredibly winning three Champions League titles in the space of two and a half years from when he initially took over in January 2016. Less than ten months after leaving in May 2018, he was persuaded to return to the post and spent two more seasons in charge until 2021, although his second stint was significantly less successful.

Ronaldo, who spent nine years at the Bernabeu following his 2009 world record transfer, had gone by the time Zidane returned. But the Portuguese icon was Madrid's talisman throughout Zidane's glistening first spell, scoring 112 times in the 114 games he played for the French coach.

However, his success seemingly wasn't enough to leave a permanent mark on Zidane, who favoured three others more – perhaps technically superior players than Ronaldo's brute strength and determined single-mindedness.

"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 told Canal+.

Luka Modric and Toni Kroos left a greater impression on Zidane / Kaz Photography/GettyImages

Kroos and Modric were the cornerstones of Zidane's all-conquering side and perhaps speak more to his personal preferences as a former midfielder himself. Meanwhile, he shares both his French nationality and Algerian heritage with Benzema, who is also a Madrid legend in his own right.

Benzema left Madrid for the Saudi Pro League aged 35 in 2023, having won the Ballon d'Or in the December prior. A 34-year-old Kroos played his last ever club game in the 2024 Champions League final, winning his fifth title with Madrid – and sixth overall.

Meanwhile, Modric is still going strong at the age of 39 and is now the club's oldest player of all time after breaking a record previously held by Ferenc Puskas that had stood since 1966.