Ronaldo does not have to defend, says Ancelotti

The Italian coach has told his star player to focus on his attacking duties and feels Madrid have enough options going forward

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti has insisted that he does not expect Cristiano Ronaldo to do much defensive work as he wants the attacker to focus on his strong points instead.

The Portugal international netted an impressive 34 goals in as many La Liga appearances last term and the Italian trainer feels that a changed role could affect his goalscoring form.

"Cristiano doesn't need to do much work at the back. He needs to be ready when the team has the ball," Ancelotti told reporters.

"He has to feel comfortable on the pitch. There's no need to change his position."

The former Paris Saint-Germain coach then went on to discuss his attacking options and insisted that they do not need a new striker after the departure of Gonzalo Higuain to Napoli.

"We've got Ronaldo, who's the best in the world, [Karim] Benzema, [Alvaro] Morata, Jese [Rodriguez]," he continued.

"There are some truly great strikers about elsewhere, but we've got good enough ones here to do as well as possible."