Cristiano Ronaldo benefits more from his understanding with Karim Benzema than the French striker does from the talents of his Real Madrid teammate, Guti has told L'Equipe.
Ronaldo, 29, and Benzema, 26, have played together at the Bernabeu since both moved to the Spanish capital in summer 2009.
According to statistics published in L'Equipe, Benzema is behind only Mesut Ozil and Angel Di Maria in the number of La Liga goals set up for Ronaldo during his prolific Madrid career. The Frenchman is also the main creator of goals for him in the Champions League.
The pair teamed up to devastating effect last weekend, claiming all Madrid's goals between them in the 5-0 demolition of Athletic Bilbao.
Ronaldo has struck 13 times in six league outings this season, but Guti believes the former Manchester United star would not have such an impressive tally were it not for the France striker.
"Even though it's clear that he can create chances by himself and score goals, he would never have such statistics without Benzema," Guti, who played with the pair during the 2009-10 season, explained.
"You can't score more than two goals a game without significant help. Karim is not only useful in terms of the final pass, but also in the buildup to a goal.
"But that doesn't mean Benzema doesn't benefit. For him, as he is not obsessed by statistics, it's good to be able to hand the goalscoring burden to someone else. That allows him to have a little less pressure in front of goal and feature at the heart of play."
Ronaldo laid on Benzema's second and Madrid's fourth against Bilbao rather than completing a hat-trick -- which he went on to do later in the match - and called the former Lyon man "La Liga's best striker" in his post-match interview.
"Cristiano could have tried his luck in front of goal, but he showed how much he values Benzema's work. He wanted that gesture to symbolise their relationship," Guti said.
"It was also a way to defend Karim from the criticism and the whistles which have sometimes been aimed at him. We can only hope that gesture will have a positive effect on the supporters' opinion of Benzema."