Cristiano Ronaldo underappreciated, says Salgado

Former Real Madrid defender Michel Salgado feels Cristiano Ronaldo does not get the appreciation he deserves following his sublime performances for the Santiago Bernabeu side.

The Portugal star recently became Madrid's all-time top goalscorer in La Liga and extended his Champions League goal record to 80 after yet another hat-trick, this time against Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk in a 4-0 win.

However, despite accomplishing this astonishing feat, Salgado believes not everybody realises how much work Ronaldo puts in to achieve his success.

"How he works is spectacular and what he’s doing is impressive, equalling Messi's records and winning Ballons d'Or when it's so difficult, because you have a player like Lionel Messi," Salgado told  AS .

"I don’t think people realise the value of Cristiano and the effort he puts into winning what he wins."

Salgado made more than 250 appearances at right-back for Madrid during his career, a position now held by Dani Carvajal, and the retired defender is full of praise for the 23-year-old.

"For me, Dani Carvajal is a special full-back and is amazing in defence and attack and has the perfect balance," he added.

"He's a player who has learned to defend over the past two years at Real Madrid. He has quality, gets down the other end, can put in a good cross and is currently first choice for both real Madrid and Spain."