ZIDANE TROLLS MESSI AS HE CROWNS RONALDO 'THE BEST OF HIS GENERATION

Los Blancos' manager has snubbed the Barcelona superstar by calling the Portuguese the greatest of recent times by a distance

Cristiano Ronaldo has been labelled as the player of his generation "by far" by Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane, who has snubbed Lionel Messi in the process.

The Portuguese and the Argentine have established a duopoly over the Ballon d'Or, winning every award since 2008.

However, Zidane believes that Ronaldo is the greatest player of this century by a significant distance, despite Madrid's 3-0 win over Eibar on Sunday representing another frustrating appearance for Ronaldo, who has just one LaLiga goal to his name this season.

Ronaldo, who netted 42 times across all competitions last term, squandered a glut of golden chances after Marco Asensio had put Madrid two up at the Santiago Bernabeu, before Marcelo capped off the win late on.

However, Zidane believes the 32-year-old, who has had no issues finding the net in the Champions League so far this season, will come good domestically.

"There's no need to worry if Cristiano does not score, the important thing is that he has chances," Zidane told reporters.