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#3 Gareth Bale
Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale were 2 galacticos who combined very well. The very mention of Bale – who won 2 La Ligas, 4 Champions Leagues and 3 Club World Cups among other titles with Los Blancos - is enough to get Madristas seething, not least because of that infamous banner, but the fact remains that he and Cristiano Ronaldo made for a dynamic duo.
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The Welshman, who joined Madrid from Tottenham for a then-world-record fee of £85.1 million back in 2013, combined with Ronaldo to produce 41 goals despite playing just 157 matches with the Portuguese.
Now, Bale has come under heavy criticism from the Madrid faithful for his lack of commitment (his rumoured nickname amongst his Real Madrid teammates was The Golfer due to his well-publicised love for the sport, with Marcelo even gifting him a club during the team’s Secret Santa), his perceived lethargic attempts to master the Spanish language and his time on the injury table, but no one can argue that Bale has been a major contributor to Real Madrid’s recent successes.
The Welshman scored in two major Champions League finals, including a crucial goal which helped seal Real Madrid’s fabled La Decima in the 2014 final against arch-rivals Atletico and a phenomenal brace, which included a stunning bicycle kick, against Liverpool in the 2018 final. Love him or hate him, one simply can’t ignore Bale’s role in helping Cristiano Ronaldo win major titles.
#2 Mesut Özil
That Cristiano Ronaldo loved playing with ‘Assist King’ Özil and was absolutely gutted when the German left for Arsenal is no secret. Özil, who joined Real Madrid from Werder Bremen in 2010 on the back of a brilliant World Cup performance, linked up excellently with Ronaldo, with the pair producing a stunning 41 goals in 149 matches.
Such was his impact that Özil was Europe’s top assist leader in his debut season. Despite helping Cristiano Ronaldo and Madrid win three crucial trophies, including a double under Jose Mourinho in 2012, while remaining the undisputed assist leader in the La Liga for a third consecutive season, Özil was inexplicably sold to Arsenal for around £42.5 million, making him the most expensive German player ever at the time.
Several Real Madrid players were outraged by the transfer, not least Cristiano Ronaldo, who was quoted by Spanish tabloid AS as saying "He was the player who best knew my moves in front of goal...I'm angry about Özil leaving". While Özil – now at Fenerbahçe – never quite recaptured his Real Madrid form in the Premier League despite patches of sheer brilliance, one could only imagine what greater heights Cristiano Ronaldo and Özil could have scaled had the German stayed in the Spanish capital.
#1 Karim Benzema
That the Frenchman leads this list is absolutely no surprise. Cristiano Ronaldo owes a lot to Benzema, who made innumerable sacrifices – including selflessly assisting Ronaldo with goals and even willingly playing out of position to accommodate his Portuguese teammate.
The pair combined to produce a stunning 76 goals, making Benzema Cristiano Ronaldo’s top scoring partner. Together, the pair won 15 trophies, including 2 league titles, 4 Champions League titles and 2 Spanish Super Cups, among others.
Personal plaudits for Benzema also followed, including 3 French Player of the Year honors, a UEFA Champions League top assist provider recognition, and a La Liga Team of the Season award among others, which aren’t nearly enough for a man who will undoubtedly go down as one of Real Madrid’s best ever, but most underrated players.
It’s been a rocky road for Benzema – who has often been on the receiving end of criticism from fans and pundits alike - at Madrid and France, the latter of whom he hasn’t played for since 2015 after being named in a blackmail scandal which implicated several French players. But the Frenchman has always taken it in his stride.
After Cristiano Ronaldo’s departure in 2018, Benzema successfully emerged from his shadow and went on to brilliantly spearhead Real Madrid’s 2020 title winning campaign. All in all, it can be safely said that without Benzema, who is in the midst of a well-deserved renaissance, Cristiano Ronaldo would have never scored a ridiculous 450 goals for Real Madrid.
