Cristiano Ronaldo 'Wasn't Comfortable As A Striker' When He First Played There

Former Real Madrid coach Paul Clement has revealed that Cristiano Ronaldo told Carlo Ancelotti that he 'wasn't comfortable' playing up front when the Italian took over at the Bernabeu.

Ronaldo played under Ancelotti between 2013 and 2015, scoring 48 goals as well as winning Real Madrid's 10th Champions League title during the latter's first year in the Spanish capital.

It was the Italian's idea to shift the Portuguese superstar into a central role from a winger, but the current Juventus front-man was not keen on the tactical switch.

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Clement worked with the duo at Madrid and revealed how discussions between Ronaldo and Ancelotti went down.

Speaking to Stadium Astro, the former Swansea boss explained,

"Carlo had an idea that Cristiano would play as a striker, either with (Karim) Benzema or Benzema would come into the game

"He wanted to free him up more so he could become more of a goalscorer and less responsibility because when you play wide you have to track back."

The system was used in pre-season, but Clement states that 'CR7' had his reservations once the La Liga campaign begun.

The 47-year-old explained that Ronaldo told his manager playing with his back to goal is 'not his strength'.

"He said: 'I prefer coming in from the left, running at defenders and shooting or providing crosses'.

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Ancelotti decided to keep the Portugal captain on the left hand side, but tweaked the system so the 34-year-old could attack freely.

Clement said, "We knew that if Cristiano went forward that Angel (Di Maria) would have the ability to come across to provide cover and help Marcelo, who was at left-back.

"We knew what he liked and what he was good at and Carlo gave him the opportunity to go and do that."

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Ronaldo scored 102 times during the 59-year-old's two years at Madrid, which included a career-high of 61 in the 2014-15 season.

Ronaldo regularly plays up front in Italy now, so it's interesting he was not originally keen on the idea.

Topics: Carlo Ancelotti, Portugal, Cristiano Ronaldo, Real Madrid

Daniel Marland

Daniel is a journalist for SPORTbible and he has previous experience with Manchester United. He has spoken to some of the biggest names in sport including Rio Ferdinand, Peter Crouch, WWE COO Triple H and WWE legend The Undertaker. May or may not do a decent impression of Jamie Carragher.

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