Everton boss Carlo Ancelotti says Sergio Ramos deserves to be regarded in the same class as Cristiano Ronaldo in terms of influence.

Ancelotti worked with both players at Real Madrid.

He said, "You don't have to build a team around Cristiano Ronaldo and, as I said with Zidane, you have to put them in the more comfortable way on the pitch.

"I don't think you have to build strict tactics with this player defensively because there are players who are more involved in the attacking phase and there are players who have to be involved more in the defensive phase.

"Of course, they have to work together because the team is the most important part of the game, but strikers like Ronaldo who are able to score every single game, you don't have to give too much information defensively.

"It is the easiest way to be a manager, to manage a fantastic player because they are professional, they are serious, they have personality, they are motivated, so it is the easiest way.

"Sergio Ramos also has a fantastic quality.

"I think his best quality he has is not tactically, it's not technically, it's character and the personality that he has and the ability he has to motivate the people around him, like his teammates.

"Ramos during that period was important for this, he was always at the top when the game was important and in the key moment of the games."