Rafa Benitez: Cristiano Ronaldo is the best player I’ve coached

Real Madrid boss Rafa Benitez says Cristiano Ronaldo is the best player he’s ever coached.

The Los Blancos boss has worked with a whole host of big names during his career in Spain, England and Italy, but says the 30-year-old forward is on another level.

Ronaldo became the club’s all-time leading league scorer at the weekend after his five-year tally against Espanyol took him to 230 – two more than the previous record held by Raul.

Speaking to reporters at a press conference ahead of Real’s Champions League game this week against Shakhtar Donesk, Benitez once again hailed his star forward.

"He’s an excellent player, the best I have coached. Now he is our player and to me he is the best. I didn’t have the good luck to see Di Stefano on the pitch, but he was that. Raul, yes, I coached him and he was a competitor and a winner. Cristiano has that same mentality," he commented.

The manager then switched his attention to the game itself and admitted he make rotate his side slightly.

"Rotation is not a whim, it is a way to take advantage of the entire team. The fact that you switch players depends upon performance, their position. It is not a policy to have rotation, it is a way to think about the function of the players in their positions. There are matches in which they get more worn out than others. Beyond that I think we have a quality squad and I want to take full advantage of them."