Messi rivalry helps Ronaldo become better: Zinedine Zidane

French football legend says Portuguese national has gone on to become a legend for Real Madrid

French football legend Zinedine Zidane believes Real Madrid star striker Cristiano Ronaldo’s rivalry with Barcelona’s ace forward Lionel Messi pushes him to become better and better.

The two players, Ronaldo and Messi, are considered to be the best players at the moment in the world of football and have shared seven ‘World Footballer of the Year’ awards between them. Messi is leading the race against Ronaldo with four Ballons d’Or trophies to his name while Ronaldo has taken the award home thrice.

Zidane thinks Ronaldo’s hard work has translated him into a legend for the Spanish club over the years.

"You have to see Ronaldo on the training pitch. It is simply amazing to see him in action. The rivalry with Messi is only pushing him to get the best out of himself,” said the 43-year-old Zidane, as quoted by French television channel Canal+ on Monday.

"Ever since Raul (Gonzalez) has left Madrid, Ronaldo has gone on to develop into another club legend. He is feeling very well at Real Madrid,” added Zidane, who is considered one of the best central midfielders in the game during his stints with Italian champions Juventus (1996-2001) and Real (2001-2006).

Read: Insatiable Ronaldo collects fourth Golden Shoe award

Earlier, Real coach Rafael Benitez also said that Ronaldo was one step ahead of everyone in the world of football.

“There is no debate – he is the best in the world. I hold him in the highest regard,” he said, as quoted by Goal.com.

“I’m surprised that so much attention is paid to what people say about Cristiano and not to what happens on the field.”