Cristiano Ronaldo has highlighted Zinedine Zidane's role in Real Madrid's recent success and has stressed the Frenchman "changed everything" after taking charge 12 months ago.
Zidane replaced Rafael Benitez as head coach at the Santiago Bernabeu last January and guided the club to Champions League glory in his first season.
Madrid's fine form has continued in 2016-17 as they went on a 40-game unbeaten run in all competitions before they were beaten by Sevilla and Ronaldo believes Zidane deserves all the credit for their sublime performances.
"When Zidane came to the team, all the players respected him because of his time as a player. Now everybody respects him for what he has done as a coach as well. He is showing passion for the game," Ronaldo told Dongqiudi.
"When Zidane took charge of the team, everything changed. He is a very professional and calm coach. He had exactly what we needed at the time, he changed everything.
"That is why we went 40 games without losing. Zidane is the main man responsible for that run. He changed the mentality of the team. We started to win as soon as he took over."
