'Zidane was clever to leave Real Madrid when Ronaldo did', says former Ballon d'Or winner

What's the story?

Former Milan star Ruud Gullit has opined that he is not surprised at Real Madrid's Champions League loss to Ajax on Tuesday night, stating that former club boss Zinedine Zidane was clever to have left the Bernabeu in the same summer that Cristiano Ronaldo departed.

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Also See: Real Madrid Transfer News

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In case you didn't know...

After their controversial loss to Real Madrid in the first leg of the fixture, a vengeful Eredivisie team walked into the Bernabeu and established a thumping 4-1 defeat on the Galacticos, giving themselves a deserved 5-3 aggregate win.

The defending European champions walked into the game after two humiliating losses to Barcelona in the Copa del Rey and La Liga. Having crashed out of the Cup and with little hope at a domestic title win, the Champions League was supposed to be Santiago Solari's only hope as his future appears to get bleaker by the day.

The Argentine manager replaced Julen Lopetegui after Los Blancos suffered a series of dismal results earlier in the season. After having had little influence on the squad, Solari's position as manager is now in the air after suffering three important defeats in the span of a week.

The heart of the matter

Ballon d'Or winner and World Cup star Gullit has now credited Zidane as being smart for exiting Real Madrid at the same time that Ronaldo did.

Speaking as a pundit on beIN Sports (via Goal), "Zidane was clever enough to get out of there on time when they lost Ronaldo," he said while appearing as a pundit on beIN Sports. "That's the whole point. And whoever comes after that has a difficult task."

"You have no Ronaldo. That's 50 goals you don't have."

The former Chelsea boss added that he was not surprised at Real's defeat last night. He said, "It was not a surprise. Because seeing Madrid lately, seeing the first match they [Ajax] played at home - and they didn't deserve to lose - I saw opportunities, especially in Madrid."

"Then you see the game Barcelona at Madrid, played them [Real] off the park as well. You see the midfield and you think to yourself, 'Oh my God. That is exactly the team they want to face!'"

"And the worst part is this has been the easiest game of the season. That is even worse. Against Madrid! Not even in their home competition do they have easy games like this."

What's next?

After a week to forget, Real Madrid will look to salvage their season when they face Valladolid in La Liga on Sunday night.