"He was incredible" - Cristiano Ronaldo's ex-Manchester United teammate names Arsenal hero as the best player he's played with
Dany Welbeck has snubbed Cristiano Ronaldo and named Arsenal icon Santi Cazorla as the best player he has played with. The Brighton & Hove Albion star found the Spaniard's ability to find his teammates with passes from both feet incredible.
The English striker shared the pitch with Ronaldo just eight times in his Manchester United career. Meanwhile, he has played 33 times with Cazorla for a total of 2,069 minutes at Arsenal.
While speaking to GOAL, Welbeck was quizzed about the best player he played with and he replied with Cazorla. He said:
"That's a very difficult one because I played with a numerous amount of players. [Someone who was] Really, really gifted was Santi Cazorla. He was incredible. Left and right foot, football intelligence, receiving the ball, playing passes through, and breaking the lines. He was the one I was like, 'Wow'."
When quizzed about the best opponent, he said:
"The best player I played against, I would have to go with Eden Hazard. When he was at Chelsea, he was unbelievable. His balance, his agility, his movement. He was pretty much unplayable!"
Welbeck played against Eden Hazard's side 14 times and won just twice.
Danny Welbeck on playing with Cristiano Ronaldo
Danny Welbeck has spoken about the time he spent with Cristiano Ronaldo and the motivation the Portuguese star brought to his side. He was talking to Arsenal's official website when he said:
"When I first got put in the first-team dressing room, I think I was between Giggs and [Cristiano] Ronaldo. You walk in and it's like 'woah, these are two top-class players'. Even back then, you could see the dedication and the motivation that Cristiano Ronaldo had. I was looking at him like 'wow, this is special, what I'm seeing on the training field'. You look at him now and it's not a surprise to see the levels that he's reached."
Cristiano Ronaldo is now enjoying his time in Saudi Arabia after his contract was terminated by Manchester United. The forward is trying to help Al Nassr win the league title and could reignite his rivalry with Lionel Messi next season if the Argentine joins Al Hilal.