Abu Dhabi: Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane said he wanted Cristiano Ronaldo to see out the rest of his career with Los Blancos after the Portuguese forward scored the winner in Saturday’s Fifa Club World Cup final.
The 1-0 victory over Brazil’s Gremio at Zayed Sports City courtesy of Ronaldo’s early second half free-kick saw Real become the first side to retain the title. It also marked the first time the Spanish club had won five titles in a calendar year.
“He’s a key player and we want him to stay with us until the end,” said Zidane. “He’s with his club, his home, and what he’s done and keeps doing, no one else is going to do. So, hopefully he keeps on playing like that until he retires.”
Ronaldo, 32, echoed those sentiments after the game.
“If it is possible, yes, I’d like to retire at Real,” he said. “But things don’t depend on me. What depends on me is what I do on the pitch. It’s not me who makes the decisions. I think I’m doing my job but other things don’t depend on me, so we will see.”
With this latest strike, Ronaldo extended his record as the competition’s all-time highest scorer to seven goals. It comes almost a fortnight after equalling Lionel Messi’s record of winning five Ballons d’Or.
“I’m happy I got another record. I’ve always said I let my football do the talking. That’s my work, I always try to give my best and that is what I want, to keep motivating myself by enjoying my football.
“I don’t have to keep talking about myself,” he replied, when asked if he was the greatest Real player ever. “Numbers don’t lie and they talk by themselves. I’m very happy that I’m still motivated to keep winning, and I feel strong to continue my career and keep winning trophies.”
With this victory, Zidane now has eight trophies as coach of Real since taking charge two years ago, and has overtaken his old boss Vicente Del Bosque’s Real haul.
“I never imagined I’d get more than Del Bosque,” said Zidane. “As you know, he was my coach and I respect him a lot. I was happy to have worked under him and I’m happy with the titles I’ve won. Now I want to continue on this way.”
Real Madrid are currently third in La Liga, eight points behind leaders Barcelona, ahead of next Saturday’s El Clasico. And they will now be desperate to revive their domestic form using confidence from this Club World Cup win.
“All trophies are important but if I had to choose one it would be the Spanish La Liga because it is the most difficult one to win,” added Zidane.
“Suffering is a little too negative a word,” he said of domestic form. “In a season it could happen that you don’t always feel comfortable but that’s normal.
“We have inspiration from our fifth title this year and we are going to enjoy the moment, go home and then rest, then think about the rest of the season.
“I don’t know if it’s a golden age but it is a good moment for all that Real Madrid wants as a club. We will keep trying stay on this line and enjoy today, go home, take rest, then think about El Clasico.”
