Having coached some of the world’s biggest clubs, Paul Clement knows a thing or two about working with world-class talent.
The 52-year-old Englishman was most recently an assistant at Everton following some failed spells in charge of the likes of Cercle Brugge, Swansea and Reading.
However, Clement is most famous for his stints working under Carlo Ancelotti at the likes of Real Madrid, Chelsea, PSG and Bayern Munich, helping the Italian lift multiple league and cup titles, as well as the 2013/14 Champions League.
Paul Clement’s honours as an assistant coach
- Chelsea: Premier League x1, FA Cup x1, Community Shield x1
- PSG: Ligue 1 x1
- Real Madrid: Copa del Rey x1, Champions League x1, UEFA Super Cup x1, FIFA Club World Cup x1
- Bayern Munich: DFL-Supercup x1
Clement has worked with some incredible players during his career, but one name stands out above them all.
“I’ve worked with some great players across the different clubs, Chelsea, PSG, Bayern and obviously Real Madrid. And there’s a group of players – I think the list is even too long to mention – but at Chelsea (John Terry), (Frank Lampard), Ashley Cole, (Didier) Drogba – outstanding players,” Clement told talkSPORT.
He continued: “You go to PSG and Zlatan (Ibrahimovic) is there, (David) Beckham, Thiago Silva — great players.
“Bayern was full of incredible talent. (Arjen) Robben, (Franck) Ribery (Robert) Lewandowski, (Thomas) Muller, (Philipp) Lahm, (Manuel) Neuer – they had a great team at that point.
“And then Madrid, well, (Gareth) Bale, (Karim) Benzema, (Sergio) Ramos, (Luka) Modric, Toni Kroos – a lot of good players!
“But the standout one is Cristiano Ronaldo.”
Ronaldo gave Real Madrid a ‘head-start’ in every match, says Clement
Clement revealed the main reason why Ronaldo surpasses any other player he’s coached is the Portuguese icon’s willingness to ‘sacrifice’ and do whatever it takes to be the best.
So good was Ronaldo that Clement believes he gave Real Madrid a head-start over their opponents in almost every game.
“Every game it was like you started with a 1-0 or 2-0 head-start,” he explained. “I mean, he was so consistent with his scoring. The first season he scored 51… 51! It used to be 25, 30 was good. And the second season he scored 60. And he’d done that the previous years under [Jose] Mourinho and he continued it as well.
“He was an amazing talent. People often ask did he work harder than anyone else. No, not necessarily but…
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