ROME: Cristiano Ronaldo may have been crowned champion of England, Europe and the world as well as picking up the Ballon d’Or this year but Inter Milan coach Jose Mourinho still doesn’t think he’s the best.
Mourinho believes that his own Inter forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic of Sweden is one of those that are better than his countryman.
Speaking to Italian TV hostess Simona Ventura, Mourinho said there were several players better than the Manchester United winger.
“When I think about how a player should be what comes to mind is players like Kaka, Ibrahimovic and (Lionel) Messi, who is a phenomenon and in two or three years will win the Ballon d’Or,” he said.
“Ronaldo is a good player but he’s certainly not the best. He deserved the Ballon d’Or because his team won the Champions League and Premier League, he played and he scored. But for me, Ibrahimovic is better.”
Ronaldo will get the chance to test his skills on the same pitch as Ibra when United and Inter meet in the Champions League second round in February and March.
It is the type of match-up that Ronaldo has faced before when talk of who is the best player in the world has arisen.
In the 2007 Champions League semi-finals United met AC Milan with Kaka out-shining Ronaldo as the Italians reached the final and the Brazilian went on to be crowned the world’s best player.
Earlier this year United played Barcelona in the semi-finals and although Messi was largely more effective than Ronaldo, the English team went through and Ronaldo went on to take the accolades.
But for Mourinho his enigmatic Swedish forward is the ideal player, more so than Ronaldo.
“Zlatan is in love with football, he has a big heart and he is emotionally aggressive,” continued the Inter boss.
“When I made him play many matches in a row, for the Italian football world I was doing what destroys children.
“But what I was trying to do was build a team with mental strength and he is in the perfect condition to win the Ballon d’Or. He should win it.” — AFP
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