Legendary Barcelona and Bulgarian forward Hristo Stoichkov has said that Cristiano Ronaldo will win the Ballon d’Or this year thanks to his good looks. The Portuguese superstar had another amazing season scoring goals at win and also helping Real Madrid win the Champions League trophy.
With Lionel Messi retiring from international football and Ronaldo’s Portugal currently in Euro 2016 semi-final, the Real Madrid star is considered to be the favourite for the Ballon d’Or award this year. Ronaldo was beaten to the award by Lionel Messi last year with Neymar coming third. Ronaldo and Messi have dominated the Ballon d’Or in the last 8 years with Messi winning 5 and Ronaldo winning 3.
Hristo Stoichkov also added two more names to the players capable of winning the Ballon d’Or. Speaking to Spanish radio station Cadena Cope, Stoichkov said:
"Griezmann is blowing everyone away and playing some spectacular football," Stoichkov said.
"But they'll probably give it to Cristiano Ronaldo again for being guapo[handsome]!"
When asked about Gareth Bale’s chances, Stoichkov said:
the 50-year-old Bulgarian said only if Wales "reach the final."
The comment will not go down well with Ronaldo and it will be interesting to see how Ronaldo responds to Stoichkov’s comments.
Bale better than Ronaldo and Messi – Robson-Kanu
Wales put in a remarkable performance to beat Belgium 3-1 and their goal scoring hero Hal Robson-Kanu was bullish about his side's chances in the semi-final against Portugal. Robson-Kanu scored the second of Wales’ 3 goals and although Bale did not find the net for the second game running, he was influential throughout the game.
Wales led by Bale will now face Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal in the semi-final and when asked about the prospect of facing Ronaldo, Robson-Kanu believed that Bale was a better player than both Ronaldo and Messi:
When asked about Messi and Ronaldo he told reporters: "They are both world-class players. But we have a world-class player who is better.
"Obviously he has been important and it will be a big game for both of them. But we have players who will affect the game throughout and hopefully we’ll get a positive result.
"He’s [Bale} definitely on his way [to becoming the world's best]."
Cristiano Ronaldo has had a mixed tournament so far, but Wales will be wary of the Portugal superstar’s ability to change the game almost single-handedly. Gareth Bale and Wales have captured the imagination of football fans with their brave and attractive style of football and they are now just one step away now from creating more history and booking a place in the final.
