"Made everything very easy" - Former Real Madrid star Xabi Alonso recalls experiences playing with Cristiano Ronaldo
Former Real Madrid midfielder Xabi Alonso has hailed former teammate Cristiano Ronaldo's goalscoring abilities.
Both players joined Los Blancos from their respective Premier League clubs in the 2009 transfer window. Alonso played 236 games for the Spanish giants, scoring six goals and providing 31 assists.
The duo helped Real Madrid win one UEFA Champions League trophy and one La Liga title, among other honors, before Alonso's move to Bayern Munich in 2014.
The now Bayer Leverkusen manager recently shared his experience playing alongside Ronaldo, saying:
“Cristiano made everything very easy. I get the ball, I find him and he used to do his individual action to score.”
🎙| Xabi Alonso: “Cristiano made everything very easy. I get the ball, I find him and he used to do his individual action to score.” https://t.co/5ZtnJbryti
The five-time Ballon d'Or winner certainly knew how to score as he became the club's all-time greatest goalscorer with 450 goals. Ronaldo helped Real Madrid win four UEFA Champions League titles, among other honors, before joining Juventus in 2018.
He is also world football's all-time top scorer with 824 goals for club and country.
Ronaldo now plies his trade with Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr FC. He has scored five goals in four games for the club, scoring four in their previous game alone.
Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti on Vinicius Jr. after Club World Cup victory
Real Madrid lifted their first trophy of the season as they beat Al-Hilal 5-3 in the Club World Cup final on Saturday, February 11. Vinicius Jr. won the Golden Ball, scoring three goals in two games, including a brace in the final.
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Top of the World 💭🏆🤍 https://t.co/3vPvTjXxAv
Speaking after the game, manager Carlo Ancelotti was pleased with the Brazilian winger's progress and said (via realmadrid.com):
"Vini Jr. just keeps on growing. He started at the beginning of last year and is symptom of the team's progression. Little by little, we have won the Champions League and the World Cup title. He's doing very well and we're delighted with him. He keeps improving and now he makes a difference in every game and is proving to be much more effective and gets on the scoresheet in almost every game."
Ancelotti also touched upon how the Club World Cup triumph can help them improve in La Liga as well. He said:
"Vini Jr. was upset by the defeat in Mallorca, but he prepared well for this tournament, which luckily we managed to win. Now we feel this trophy will give us a new impetus and we're raring to go. He'll have a rest for a couple of days because he can't play on Wednesday against Elche because he's suspended. The rest will be good for him, but he's not showing any signs of fatigue."
Barcelona now have an 11-point lead over Real Madrid in the La Liga title race, having played one more game.