French legend Zinedine Zidane has heaped praise on Cristiano Ronaldo following his two-goal show in Real Madrid's 3-1 win over Marseille in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday evening.

The 24-year-old's brace not only secured Los Blancos a place in the last 16 as Group C winners, but also elevated the £80million Portuguese superstar to the top of the European goalscoring charts this season with five goals.

And his performance at the Stade Velodrome has not gone unnoticed with Zidane, who has hailed the former Manchester United star, especially his stunning 30-yard free-kick which gave Real the lead on the night.

"Cristiano is not just very good, he is phenomenal," Zidane told the Daily Mirror. "He does fantastic things, at times even better then me.

"Only great players can score such a magnificent goal three minutes into a game. He makes a difference. Some players are different from the rest because they do what others can't."

'Zizou' is one of the greatest players to ever grace the 'beautiful game' and won a plethora of honours during his playing days with Juventus, Real and France, including the UEFA Champions League, World Cup 1998 and Euro 2000 winner's medals.

And the three-time FIFA World Player of the Year, who now occupies an advisory role with Real to president Florentino Perez, believes teams should sit up and take notice of Manuel Pellegrini's steadily improving side.

"Madrid looked very good to me, of course they can win a 10th European Cup. You can tell Pellegrini is gradually finding the right system. People should watch out for Real Madrid," he warned.

"They have very good players, they are improving as a team and it's only been four months. I would've liked Marseille to have also got through, but Madrid were superior'.

So football fans, Zidane or Ronaldo...?

Extrafootie would love to hear your thoughts after you have had a look at these two exceptional players in the videos below, enjoy...!