Real Madrid manager Rafa Benitez on Thursday hailed his superstar striker Cristiano Ronaldo as the best in the world as he played down reports of tension between the pair.
Real Madrid take on Premier League heavyweights Manchester City in the final match of the International Champions Cup in Melbourne on Friday, however Spanish reports say the atmosphere has become testy on the training pitch during the club’s pre-season tour of Australia.
But Benitez, who took over from Carlo Ancelotti in June, suggested he had no problems with Ronaldo.
“Luckily, I have had the opportunity this week to spend quite a few days with him,” Benitez told reporters.
“And I can say that he’s competitive, he likes to win, and for that reason he is the best in the world.
“I would like all players to have that desire to win and to compete. You’ve all seen him train today and I think his performance will be up to scratch.
“I talk to all the players a lot. I have had the opportunity to talk to him, too. We talked about football and yes, he is competitive.
“Seeing Ronaldo up close training, I can see that he’s doing very well.”
Ronaldo, the world’s third-highest paid sportsman this year after boxers Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao, played the first-half on Saturday as Real Madrid lost their opening Melbourne match on penalties to Italy’s AS Roma.
Manchester City, who beat Roma in a penalty shoot-out on Tuesday, will attempt to win the three-team tournament when they take on the 10-time European champions at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
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SPECS
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
UFC%20FIGHT%20NIGHT%3A%20SAUDI%20ARABIA%20RESULTS
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The story in numbers
18
This is how many recognised sects Lebanon is home to, along with about four million citizens
450,000
More than this many Palestinian refugees are registered with UNRWA in Lebanon, with about 45 per cent of them living in the country’s 12 refugee camps
1.5 million
There are just under 1 million Syrian refugees registered with the UN, although the government puts the figure upwards of 1.5m
73
The percentage of stateless people in Lebanon, who are not of Palestinian origin, born to a Lebanese mother, according to a 2012-2013 study by human rights organisation Frontiers Ruwad Association
18,000
The number of marriages recorded between Lebanese women and foreigners between the years 1995 and 2008, according to a 2009 study backed by the UN Development Programme
77,400
The number of people believed to be affected by the current nationality law, according to the 2009 UN study
4,926
This is how many Lebanese-Palestinian households there were in Lebanon in 2016, according to a census by the Lebanese-Palestinian dialogue committee
