Cristiano Ronaldo is the best player in the world, says Sergio Ramos

The Blancos defender has taken the time to praise the Portugal international, and hailed the team’s ability to overcome the pressure of the Primera Division title race

Sergio Ramos has voiced his admiration of team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo in the wake of Real Madrid’s 4-1 La Liga win over Atletico Madrid at the Vicente Calderon on Wednesday evening.

The Portugal international netted a hat-trick to help the Santiago Bernabeu side to a crucial victory in the race for the league title, and Ramos had nothing but praise for the former Manchester United star.

“Cristiano Ronaldo is the best player in the world. We’re lucky to train with him every day and to have him with us,” Ramos was quoted as saying by reporters.

“Taking three points was vital after drawing against Valencia. A team like Real Madrid lives with pressure, but we know how to withstand it and we have to be ready for everything. Each match is a matter of life and death.

“We earned an important victory. Everything turned out well and we’re calm. We don’t think Barcelona are going to drop many points, but we depend on ourselves and our four-point cushion allows us to keep up the good work.”

Real Madrid resume league action on Saturday when they host Sporting Gijon, before facing Barcelona at Camp Nou on April 21.

Starting last month and continuing for 10 weeks, Goal.com is publishing exclusive extracts from Luca Caioli’s new book, Ronaldo: The Obsession for Perfection. The fourth extract, published on Friday, looks at his stunning goalscoring debut for Sporting Lisbon and early comparisons with the Brazilian Ronaldo. Don’t miss it!