The former Juventus boss has coached many great players in his career, but Ronaldo stands out among them for a unique reason.
Massimiliano Allegri believes what separates Cristiano Ronaldo from all the other great players he’s coached, like Zlatan Ibrahimovic for example, is his elite mentality.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner played under Allegri during his first season at Juventus in 2018/19, supplying 28 goals and 11 assists on route to Serie A and Supercoppa Italiana glory.
Despite only working with Ronaldo for a short time, however, Allegri had seen more than enough to realize what made CR7 stand out among the host of superstars he has coached in the past.
The former Juventus and AC Milan boss told The Times: “I had a lot of strong players, with a strong mentality,”
“Defenders like (Giorgio) Chiellini and (Alessandro) Nesta, midfielders like (Gennaro) Gattuso and (Clarence) Seedorf and strikers like (Zlatan) Ibrahimovic and (Cristiano) Ronaldo.
“Ronaldo is the top player for mentality. Ronaldo has a different head to everyone. He’s won five Ballons d’Or, five Champions Leagues and one European Championship for Portugal, and that is so difficult, and it’s always him being the difference. Every year he has a new objective.”
Ronaldo is expected to start in Juventus’ upcoming Turin derby against Torino on Saturday evening.