RONALDO ON MBAPPE: "IF I WERE IN MADRID I WOULD TEACH HIM"

Cristiano Ronaldo, one of the legendary names of world football, became a guest on CNN Portugal and made very striking evaluations about Kylian Mbappé, the new star of the Real Madrid team. The Portuguese star deeply analyzed that adaptation process of the French player in the Spanish giant. Stating that Mbappé playing in the center-forward position forced him quite a lot, the experienced footballer expressed clearly that this area was not the natural position of the French player. Giving important examples from his own career, Cristiano Ronaldo drew the attention of the sports public with the words, "Playing as a center-forward forces Mbappé in my opinion. Because there is not his natural position. If I were in Madrid, I would teach him to play as a number 9." Reminding that he experienced a similar transformation in his own football journey, the legendary name voiced his belief in the young star by saying, "I was not a center-forward in the past either, but I got used to playing it. He is an unpredictable player. Fast, strong, he can appear suddenly." Defending that Mbappé should not play like a classic target center-forward, Ronaldo gave a tactical advice. The Portuguese legend used the expressions, "He cannot be a typical center-forward who waits constantly inside the penalty area, waiting for them to cross so he can head the ball. He needs to enter the penalty area from behind. I did this, Mbappé does it too. He should do it." These direct quotes found a very wide echo in the Spanish and French sports press. Real Madrid fans shared these constructive criticisms of their former legend with a great interest. This tactical analysis Ronaldo presented brought a brand new dimension to those discussions in the football world.

IMAGE: Ouest-France