Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo ended up behind Lionel Messi at the 2015 Ballon d’Or recently, but for manager Zinedine Zidane, his ward is the best soccer player in the world right now.

The legendary Frenchman’s claim differs from a seemingly unconvinced statement made by his predecessor Rafa Benitez.

The former coach was criticized by Spanish media when he merely described Ronaldo as ‘one of the best’ players, sending signals that he lacked confidence on what the Portugese star had for Real Madrid.

During Benitez’ time, the former coach leaned more on Gareth Bale than Ronaldo. However, with a change of heads, Zidane believes it is the other way around by favoring Ronaldo over Bale via the Independent.

"Cristiano Ronaldo is the best," Zidane said via ESPN FC. "People can say what they like about Cristiano Ronaldo, but in his heart, he's a good person.

To date, Ronaldo has scored a total of 19 goals in La Liga for his team. They are currently trailing Barcelona by four points.

Part of the reason for making that claim on Ronaldo may be because Zidane now has a better grasp of the team and is aware that the pressure is on for him to deliver. Stress is also a given, and Zizou is aware that if the team loses, the blame falls on him.

Regardless, Zidane is aware that this comes with the territory of being at the helm of Real. The pressure may turn out good or bad, but the bottom line is dealing with it and getting his wards involved and on the same page.

"The main thing is getting my message across to the players. I only give them two or three instructions because they're extremely professional. I have a sensational group of players. I'm delighted with the work they're doing," said the retired French footballer via The Telegraph.

With that said, Zizou is gearing up for what may be his toughest test yet since taking over for Real.

The team will be going through four tough games which could more or less define whether Zidane is indeed the right man by upping the bar on what Benitez had been able to do previously.

The line up for Zidane and Real Madrid are the Athletic Club (Feb. 13), Roma (Feb. 17), La Rosaleda (Feb. 21), and then wrapping it up with the Madrid Derby (Feb. 27) via Sport.

The mentor is hoping that Ronaldo will revert to his form and have Gareth Bale back for that tough run. Bale suffered a calf injury last Jan. 17 against Sporting Gijon, as reported by Sports Mole.