Zidane’s GOAT Choices: why he once said a rival was ‘miles better’ than himself

March 3, 2026 Oliver Obel

Zinedine Zidane’s legacy hardly needs reinforcing. A World Cup winner with France in 1998, a European champion in 2000, and a Champions League winner at club level, he later returned to Real Madrid as a manager and delivered three consecutive Champions League titles along with two La Liga crowns. Few figures in modern football have shaped the game so profoundly, both on the pitch and on the touchline.

Which made one of his public admissions all the more striking.

Ronaldo praise

In 2017, following Real Madrid’s Champions League and La Liga double, Cristiano Ronaldo collected his fifth Ballon d’Or football’s most prestigious individual award. During a Madrid press conference that year, covered by Spanish outlet AS and later cited by UEFA, Zidane was asked whether Ronaldo deserved to be considered the greatest player of all time.

His answer was unequivocal:

"Yes. His numbers speak for it, both in terms of what he has done and what's still to come.

"There's no more words you can use to describe Cristiano. What he does is phenomenal.

"A player could come [to Real Madrid], spend 20 years playing in this side and still not achieve what he's done."

At first, Zidane joked: "I was definitely better!" But he immediately clarified his stance.

"You know what I think, he's miles better, but I didn't have a bad career either."

The comment resonated because it came from someone whose own résumé includes a Ballon d’Or, a World Cup final brace, and decisive performances in Europe’s biggest club matches. Yet Zidane framed Ronaldo’s statistical dominance particularly his record-breaking goal output in Spain and the Champions League as something even he could not rival.

Shared legacy, different strengths

Observers continue to debate whether Zidane’s humility undersells his own influence. While Ronaldo’s achievements are built on extraordinary consistency and scoring records, Zidane’s reputation rests on defining moments the 1998 World Cup final, the volley in the 2002 Champions League final, and his ability to control the tempo of the biggest games.

At Real Madrid, both men left indelible marks, albeit in different eras. Ronaldo became the club’s all-time leading scorer and the centerpiece of a side that dominated Europe from 2016 to 2018. Zidane, first as a Galáctico and later as manager, helped shape two historic cycles of success.

An earlier stance

Interestingly, Zidane’s view of football’s finest has not always centered on Ronaldo.

Back in 2009, before the Ronaldo–Messi rivalry had fully defined a generation, Zidane named another player as his personal pick for the world’s best. In comments reported at the time by Goal, he said:

"There are very good footballers in the world, like Cristiano Ronaldo or [Lionel] Messi, but the best for me is Ribery."

Franck Ribéry would go on to anchor Bayern Munich’s 2012–13 treble-winning campaign and finish third in that year’s Ballon d’Or voting after an extended deadline process. Although he never reached the sustained global dominance of Ronaldo or Messi, his peak years were widely admired and, at least for a time, Zidane believed they set the standard.

Taken together, Zidane’s remarks over the years reflect less contradiction than perspective. As a player who valued artistry and collective success, he has consistently recognized greatness in different forms whether in a compatriot’s flair or a teammate’s relentless numbers.

Sources: AS, UEFA.com, Goal.com