Cristiano Ronaldo was withdrawn by Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane with just eight minutes remaining at Levante on Saturday night.

The Whites, at the time, were 2-1 to the good and seemingly on course for a third straight La Liga victory.

Ronaldo, himself, had not enjoyed his best evening – having had seven shots at goal but hit the target just twice.

With the fixtures coming thick and fast this month, including the first leg of Los Blancos’ second-round Champions League clash with Paris Saint-Germain on Valentine’s Day (February 14), Zidane opted to give Ronaldo’s legs a breather for the last few minutes.

After he was withdrawn from the action at the Estadi Ciutat de Valencia, the cameras predictably zoomed in on the visibly frustrated 32-year-old as he took his place on the bench.

According to Marca, the club legend gestured at the television cameras, putting his fingers over lips, and saying: “not this” – inferring they should be filming the action on the pitch and not him.

As it was, Levante conjured up an equaliser in the 89th minute to compound Real’s misery and Ronaldo’s as the match finished all square at 2-2.