How Carlo Ancelotti tricked Cristiano Ronaldo into changing positions at Real Madrid as boss reinvented Portugal legend
CRISTIANO RONALDO was tricked into changing positions by Carlo Ancelotti at Real Madrid.
The superstar had made a name for himself as a winger in the first part of his career, winning trophies with Manchester United and Real Madrid.
He had amazing trickery and an eye for goal playing on the left for Real, but his best goalscoring season did not come until he became a striker.
Ronaldo was hesitant to make the switch at first, but Ancelotti came up with a clever tactic to make the transition a little easier.
Ancelotti, 64, was concerned about Ronaldo’s failure to track back and help out in defence, so wanted to leave him up-front when defending.
But Ronaldo did not want to switch from the left flank, so Ancelotti improvised.
His former assistant at the Bernabeu Paul Clement revealed how the veteran boss solved the issue.
Clement told SunSport: “At Real Madrid, Carlo had an idea of Ronaldo as a striker so he didn’t have to track back. He had a discussion with Cristiano who said he preferred playing off the left.
“Carlo knew he had to make him comfortable, so brought in two systems for when we were attacking, 4-3-3 with Ronaldo on the left, and then 4-4-2 when defending, with Ronaldo up front.
Clement also had plenty to say about his old boss, revealing Ancelotti is a big fan of box sets and films.
CASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO WELCOME OFFERS
He added: “He switches off by going to different restaurants, he likes to eat nice food, he’s a family man.
“When I’ve gone to stay with him, we’ve put a game on, or a box set.
“He watches all sorts. I don’t think there’s anything he hasn’t watched. I go to him for recommendations!
“Although I recommended him one about an Italian doctor called Bad Surgeon, he said he was going to watch it.
“That’s what he does to relax, movies, box sets. Our relationship is still strong. He’s always saying to come over. When I’m with him, it’s like we’re back together again all over again.”