Zinedine Zidane Named His Greatest Player in Football History

Zinedine Zidane is easily among the greatest footballers of all time. Having won major honours in France, Italy, and Spain, as well as lifting the World Cup, Euro 2000, the Champions League, and claiming a Ballon d’Or, his record speaks for itself.

What’s more, his shown that he has a truly wonderful footballing brain by becoming a rare top-level footballer who then went on to be a brilliant coach. During two spells at Real Madrid, he delivered two La Liga titles and three Champions Leagues, among other less notable triumphs.

In short, when Zidane speaks, everyone who loves football should listen. This is why it’s quite remarkable that the Frenchman once claimed a footballer was ‘miles better’ than him. That player was Cristiano Ronaldo, who was then dubbed the greatest player in football history by his former coach.

Zidane: Ronaldo ‘Miles Better’ Than Me

“What he does is phenomenal”

In 2017, Ronaldo had just claimed his fifth and final Ballon d’Or. When asked if the Portuguese forward was the greatest player ever, Zidane emphatically replied:

With Ronaldo’s achievement up for discussion, Zidane jokingly told a news conference: “I was definitely better!” He then revealed his true feelings, adding:

While most would accept that Ronaldo has achieved more in football, many would insist that Zidane should not be quite so humble about his talent. After all, both men can consider themselves right in the top tier of Real Madrid legends.

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Zidane Used to Prefer Franck Ribery

Has changed his mind since 2009

Having achieved so much at Madrid with Ronaldo, it should come as little surprise that Zidane named the iconic forward as the best footballer in history. However, the Frenchman wasn’t always so sure of the player’s talent.

Indeed, he once claimed that Franck Ribery was a superior player. This statement, however, came way back in 2009 when both Ronaldo and Lionel Messi were still relatively early on in their careers. Zidane had said:

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

Ribery would go on to have an incredible career, and was perhaps unlucky not to win the Ballon d’Or himself in 2013 – the French winger certainly felt he deserved it more than Ronaldo – but it’s safe to say he didn’t quite reach the same peaks as Ronaldo, Messi, or even Zidane.