Cristiano Ronaldo claimed the 4th Ballon d’Or title of his stellar career and in an interview with France Football, the Portuguese superstar has revealed that he thinks he would have won the Ballon d’Or more times than Messi if both of them were team-mates.
Ronaldo, 31, beat Messi who came second. However, the Barcelona superstar still has one Ballon d’Or more than the Real Madrid superstar having won 5 in his career.
Speaking to France Football, Ronaldo spoke about a lot of things even calling Messi a ‘great player’. On whether he would have claimed the award more times had they played in the same side, Ronaldo said:
"It's a difficult question. I don't know.
"It would be interesting to see both of us in the same team. I think great players should play together. So if we were in the same team, I think I would have more than him, but he wouldn't be far off.
"Everyone knows Messi is a great player. He's won five Ballons d'Or."
The Portuguese captain also vowed to fight and be in the race for the prestigious award next year as well:
"I'm going to try. I'll be in the fight, as always, but my objective now is to win the Club World Cup, an important trophy.
"After that, to win La Liga. It's a title that Real wants to win. And if possible, the Champions League again and the Copa del Rey. I always want to win everything."
Also read: World of football wishes Cristiano Ronaldo on winning his 4th Ballon d'Or
Cristiano Ronaldo has been the cornerstone of Real Madrid’s team for the last 6 seasons playing more than 30 games every year for Los Blancos. However, this year, he spoke about reducing the demands on his body, though he remained as ambitious as before.
"It's a totally normal thing. Not only for me," he said. "With age, every human loses something but gains something else.
"I always look at how to be at my best physically and in my game. I think of all that, not only for this season but for the next as well. For example, to manage the matches, in the sense of not playing everything.
"You have to be intelligent. To train as well as possible, to have a more personalised preseason. And to think a little more about the end of the season, not only the start. It's not a sprint, but a marathon. You have to use your head. Not only me, but also those around me. There are a lot of people who advise me at Real among those who look after me directly. I'm going to learn.
"It's impossible to always be at your best, even for a youngster. If I look after myself, I think I can have a very long career."
Ronaldo’s determination, discipline and the will to be the best has to be applauded and one would not put it past the Portuguese star to claim his 5th Ballon d’Or title next year.
