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Rafael van der Vaart claims he was technically superior to Cristiano Ronaldo, but lifted the lid on what made the five-time Ballon d'Or winner so special.
The pair played together during the Dutchman’s stint at Real Madrid, lining up alongside the Portuguese following his £80m switch from Manchester United in 2009.
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While Ronaldo went on to become Madrid’s all-time leading scorer and arguably the greatest player in the club’s history, Van Der Vaart has made a bold claim over the Al Nassr star.
The former Tottenham midfielder was asked who his favourite players were to play alongside during his career to which he unsurprisingly chose Ronaldo.
“Of course I have to mention Ronaldo because I played for a year at Real Madrid with him," Van Der Vaart told talkSPORT.
"You see from really close how special he is, how much effort he puts in every day.
“I was not not a player like that. I liked to go out, enjoy life. But he was in the gym training two or three times a day, recovering, and then scoring goals.
“For me, I have a son who is 18 and plays for Ajax under 19s and I always give Ronaldo as an example because he was never satisfied.
“When I scored one goal after ten minutes I thought okay, we’ve had a good game and I can just enjoy it now.
“He was not (satisfied). When he scored three he wanted four so that was a big quality – and he’s still doing it at his age."
Asked whether mental strength is what separates stars like Ronaldo from other players, Van Der Vaart replied with the claim that he was technically better than his former teammate.
He said: “Absolutely, because if you ask me who had the better technique, me or Ronaldo, I would say myself in terms of first touch and passing.
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“But he was so fit and so focused on scoring goals and winning things. I just went on the pitch and when it was 3-3 or 4-4, I preferred that to a 1-0 win.
“His way of thinking is the biggest difference.”
Van Der Vaart spent two years in north London following his exit from the Bernabeu where he went on to become something of a cult hero.
His interest in the Premier League has remained and the 42-year-old has kept close tabs on developments at Liverpool where fellow countryman Arne Slot is on the cusp of leading the Reds to the Premier League title in his first season at Anfield.
Slot has continued the excellent work of Jurgen Klopp by leading the Reds to top spot with a 13-point advantage over Arsenal with ten games to play.
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His heroics have come as no surprise to Van Der Vaart who is happy to see Slot and compatriot Ryan Gravenberch excelling on Merseyside.
“I’m not surprised because I have to say that with Liverpool’s system and what Klopp did, the foundations were there,” he added.
“The new coach has come in and made some slight changes so it’s easier to fit players in.
“But I always said on Gravenberch when he was playing for Ajax that he had the potential to be the best midfielder in the world.
“He made the wrong move going to Bayern where he was on the bench but he got a little bit lucky that a Dutch coach went to Liverpool and put him as a starting player but he shows every day how good he is.
Asked about the contrasting fortunes of Joshua Zirkzee who continues to struggle to find his feet at Old Trafford, Van Der Vaart believes the striker is hampered by his style of play being less appealing to Premier League fans.
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“It's hard to say because his potential as a striker is ‘wow’ but the way he plays, people in England aren’t a big fan of that,” he said.
“In the game against Fulham in the FA Cup he made a really good impact on the game in the second half.
“He’s working hard. I see a difference, he’s not there yet but we have to be patient. If you compare him to [Rasmus] Hojlund, Hojlund plays every game but works hard and runs and fights and blocks.
“But in England, they love players that play like Hojlund rather than Zirkzee.”
