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Zinedine Zidane admits he was humiliated in Real Madrid training by his 'greatest' ever teammate

Home> Football> La Liga> Real Madrid

Published 06:00 18 Jun 2025 GMT+1

Zinedine Zidane admits he was humiliated in Real Madrid training by his 'greatest' ever teammate

Zinedine Zidane revealed exactly what happened with a Real Madrid teammate who he called "the exception".

Josh Lawless

Josh Lawless

Zinedine Zidane embarrassed his fair share of opponents during his glittering playing career but the Real Madrid icon was on the receiving end of a rinsing from the "greatest" player he played with.

The 1998 Ballon d'Or winner played alongside a whole host of greats at club and international level, including Thierry Henry, Alessandro Del Piero, David Beckham and Patrick Vieira.

But Zidane was in no doubts that Ronaldo Nazario is the best he has ever shared a dressing room with and in a recent sit-down interview with four-time NBA champion Tony Parker for the SKWEEK Show, he recalled being humiliated by the Brazilian legend on a regular basis in training.

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As per MARCA, Zidane said: "It was fun when you were with Ronaldo, the Brazilian, and he said to you, 'Today, I'm going to nutmeg you twice.' He said it, and he did it."

Zidane and Ronaldo played together at Real, winning La Liga in 2002/03 as part of the Galacticos.

Having already played for Inter Milan and Barcelona and scored a hatful of goals, 'O Fenomeno' completed a €46 million move to Los Blancos and scored 104 goals in 177 appearances.

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Injuries stopped the two-time Ballon d'Or winner from reaching even higher heights in his career but Zidane has always referred to him as the best he has ever played with and was in awe of some of the things he could do.

Zinedine Zidane explained why Ronaldo Nazario is the best

"Ronaldo, without hesitation," he said when asked who is the best player he played with by CNN.

"The best. We see, very often form, very big players step up and perform in big games and that was what he did.

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"I was especially impressed with him during training. He had such an ease with the ball, it was quite disconcerting.

"Sometimes he irritated people but it was part of his personality - to irritate people from time to time - even in daily life not on the pitch. He is number one."

Zinedine Zidane views Ronaldo Nazario as the best player he has played with. Image: Getty
Zinedine Zidane views Ronaldo Nazario as the best player he has played with. Image: Getty

In the same interview, Zidane was asked what separates a good player from being great and he again used Ronaldo as a reference point for greatness and called him "the exception".

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He explained: "For journalists in general, what makes a very good player is what you win. For me, on a personal level, the difference is actually why I say Ronaldo is number one.

"Because every day I'd train with him and every day it would be different - I saw something new and something beautiful.

"That's what makes the difference for between a very good player and the exception, who for me is Ronaldo."

Featured Image Credit: Getty

Topics: Zinedine Zidane, Real Madrid, La Liga

Josh Lawless
Josh Lawless

Josh is a sports journalist who specialises in football and WWE. He has been published by Curzon Ashton FC, Late Tackle, Manchester City FC, The Mirror, Read Man City and Manchester Evening News. He provides coverage of professional wrestling and has covered two WrestleMania events for SPORTbible.

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@joshlawless_

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