Cristiano Ronaldo instills winning mentality among teammates: Zinedine Zidane

Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane said the return of Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo instills confidence in the squad as the record European champions begin their UEFA Champions League title defence against Apoel on Wednesday.

Ronaldo had been handed a domestic five-match ban after pushing a referee during the Spanish Super Cup first leg. In the next three La Liga matches, Real have won one and drawn three.

“I prefer Cristiano to be with us always. We are not talking about dependency, what I want is to have all players ready and able to play,” Zidane said at a press conference prior to Wednesday’s match.

“He does not contribute with just goals. He is an important player in the squad, a leader who always wants to win and instills that among his teammates,” the former Real Madrid player added.

Zidane said that Ronaldo was focused on the task ahead and was very happy to have the opportunity to play again.

“We are glad because he is in a good form both physically and mentally, despite all what happened and what has been said he is very good. I am happy to see him again on field,” he added.

The manager said that the squad was very excited with Cristiano’s return as they try to defend their Champions League’s title, although the mission would not be easy.