90min

Fabio Capello Crowns Ronaldo as the Best Player He Has Ever Coached Despite Weight Issues

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​Fabio Capello has had the pleasure of coaching some of the world’s best players in an illustrious managerial career which has seen him manage teams such as ​AC Milan, ​Juventus and, of course, the England national team. But who is the best player that the Italian has ever coached?

That was the question posed by Italian news outlet Sky Calcio Club, where Capello had to decide who was the best player out of a list which included footballing greats such as Marco van Basten, Alessandro Del Piero and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

But, after much deliberation, the 71-year-old managed to come to a conclusion, while poking fun at the weight of the legendary Brazilian.

“Ronaldo. Despite the fact I had to send him away to win the league with ​Real Madrid,” said Capello, quoted by ​gianlucadimarzio.com. “He weighed 96 kg. I asked him how much he weighed when he won the World Cup in Japan and Korea and he said 84. So I asked him if he could get down to at least 88.”

Ronaldo played under Capello during his short time at AC Milan, where he signed for the club midway through the 2006/07 campaign, before departing the in 2008.

Though Ronaldo’s time at AC Milan wasn’t the most successful spell of his career largely due to injury, the Brazilian managed to register nine goals in 20 appearances, as well as helping Milan win the ​Serie A in the 2006/07 campaign.

Regardless, the striker was recipient of three FIFA World Player of the Year’s, two Ballon d’Or’s and two World Cup’s- to name but a few- and his place at the top of Capello’s list is very well-earned.