“But he is a good ego for the team” - Carlo Ancelotti names Real Madrid star who had big ego like Cristiano Ronaldo

Former Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti has named defender Sergio Ramos as the player who had the biggest personality alongside Cristiano Ronaldo at the club. The legendary Italian tactician spent two spells in charge of Los Blancos, arguably the biggest and most successful club in world football.

In a chat with The Rest is Football podcast, Ancelotti revealed that it was not difficult to manage the likes of Ronaldo and Ramos despite their ego. He pointed to the pair as top professionals and revealed that their ego was, in fact, good for their team at the time.

“And I have to say, it’s not difficult to manage the top players because usually the top players are the most professional players. Yeah, serious professional. I can say one of the best professional players was Cristiano Ronaldo. Big ego, strong personality. Another player with [a] big ego and [a] strong personality was Sergio Ramos, for example. But he is a good ego for the team", he said (via United in Focus).

Cristiano Ronaldo and Sergio Ramos are two of the greatest Real Madrid players in modern history, and arguably in the entire history of the club. Both men played key roles when Los Blancos won their evasive tenth UEFA Champions League title, La Decima, under Carlo Ancelotti back in 2014.

Ronaldo was at the Bernabeu from 2009 until 2018 and ended up scoring 450 goals to be the club's all-time leading goalscorer. Ramos, on the other hand, enjoyed a hugely successful 15-year spell at the club that culminated in multiple title wins, including in the Champions League, as captain.

Cristiano Ronaldo's ex-Real Madrid teammate rubbishes claims of feud

Cristiano Ronaldo's former teammate at Real Madrid, Karim Benzema, has revealed that he still has a very good relationship with the 40-year-old. Both players sit at numbers one and two in Los Blancos' all-time goalscoring charts, having played together for eight years in Madrid.

In an interview with Diario AS, Benzema answered a question on how he greeted Ronaldo in their most recent meeting between their respective clubs. He revealed that despite appearing to be cold to his former teammate, they shared a warm moment away from the prying eyes of the public.

“I gave a cold greeting to Cristiano Ronaldo? No, please. We spoke in the locker room before, we hugged. There's a lot of respect, we are fine. We don't need to show off anything in front of the TV", he said (via @MadridZone on X).

Ronaldo moved to Saudi Arabia with Al-Nassr in January 2023 and Benzema followed suit just six months later, joining Al-Ittihad from Real Madrid. The Frenchman has already led his side to a league title, while Ronaldo still waits for his first major honour in Saudi Arabia.

Edited by Sulayman Salahudeen