“We had never seen Zidane like that” – Ex-Real Madrid star on how Zidane inspired Cristiano Ronaldo, Sergio Ramos and more during UCL semifinal

Former Real Madrid striker Borja Mayoral provided an interesting story of how Zinedine Zidane motivated the side during the 2018 Champions League semifinals. He claimed that the speech impressed the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, and Sergio Ramos, motivating them to perform better.

The game in question was the second leg of the semifinals at home against Bayern Munich. Speaking on the Offsiders podcast, Mayoral said:

"We were losing 0-1 at HT, Kimmich's goal. We were playing very bad. Zidane entered the dressing room... I had never lived something like this."

"We were all silent and Zidane shouted 'Everyone get out of here, except the players,'" he added. "He kicked everyone out, the physios, his staff. He gave a speech. I was shocked. He yelled at us, that we're at the Bernabéu, that we're playing for an UCL final, the Real Madrid badge...

"That speech... wow. All the players were impressed: Cristiano, Ramos, Varane, Benzema... We had never seen Zidane like that. After that: 2nd half, minute 46. Benzema scored."

The Spanish giants finished the game 2-2 and having beat Bayern 2-1 at the Allianz Arena the previous week, secured qualification to the final. They beat Liverpool 3-1 to lift their 13th UCL trophy.

The 2017-18 campaign would be the last Ronaldo spent at the Bernabeu, moving to Juventus at the end of that season.

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Jude Bellingham joins Cristiano Ronaldo in an exclusive list in Real Madrid history

The teenager has enjoyed a splendid start to life at the Bernabeu.

Real Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham joined an elusive list in club history after his late goal against Union Berlin in the Champions League handed his side a 1-0 victory. With the goal, he joined Cristiano Ronaldo, Marco Asensio and Isco as the only players to score on their La Liga and UCL debut for the club in the 21st century.

Bellingham completed a much-anticipated €103 move to Los Blancos from Borussia Dortmund this summer. His goalscoring exploits have taken many by surprise and he has bagged six goals in his first seven appearances for the side. He has quickly endeared himself to the club faithful with his knack for producing goals late in games.

He was unable to make much of a difference in the side's 3-1 loss to Atletico Madrid. However, he has established himself as one of Europe's elite youngsters and could go on to become a club legend for Real Madrid.