What's the story?
Cristiano Ronaldo has been compared to others all his life and besides Lionel Messi, many have compared the Portuguese to his namesake, Ronaldo, the Brazilian striker. Zlatan Ibrahimovic has often talked about the striker's influence on him in his younger days and recently went one notch ahead as he claimed that Ronaldo is the best player of all time and also said that the striker was better than Cristiano as the Brazilian had more natural talent in him than the Real Madrid man.
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Ronaldo, now 40 is considered as one of the best strikers of all time and his records speak for itself. He won league titles with Inter Milan, AC Milan and Real Madrid and also was the best player for Brazil in their 2002 World Cup triumph. His record for Brazil is staggering, 62 goals in 98 caps for the Selecao. The Brazilian won two Ballon d'Or honours and was also named by FIFA as the best player of the year on three occasions.
Cristiano Ronaldo, meanwhile, recently won his fourth Ballon d'Or after a successful year saw him lift the Champions League with Real Madrid and the Euros with Portugal. He was in blistering form throughout 2016 and also won the best player of the year accolade recently at the Globe Soccer Awards. Cristiano has three Champions League titles to his name along with being Real Madrid's all-time highest goal scorer.
The heart of the matter
Ibrahimovic is known for giving his opinion freely and is never shy to speak his mind.
On the Brazilian Ronaldo, Zlatan quipped, "I think Ronaldo, Il Fenomeno, was the best. He was an example of what football is. Everything he did was like "wow". The way he dribbled, the way he ran. Ronaldo was natural, he was born to be what he was. It was not something he trained to become. This type of player is not made, he is born. He is unique." On Cristiano, the Manchester United forward claimed, "It is different because he is the result of hard training. It is not natural."
The Swede is enjoying his spell with the Red Devils and has scored 50 goals this calendar year. He is just one shy of Lionel Messi's tally of 51 goals in 2016 and has an opportunity to beat him when United play Middleborough tonight.
Sportskeeda's take
There are no doubts over Zlatan's claim that the Brazilian Ronaldo was an exceptional talent and was one of the best Brazilian players of all time. Cristiano Ronaldo has been compared to one player or another in his entire career and he will take this comment from Ibrahimovic in his stride and continue his good run in the new year.
