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Pascal Ferre has revealed that Cristiano Ronaldo has told him about his desire to retire with more Ballon d'Or wins than Lionel Messi. The France Football editor-in-chief claimed that it is the Manchester United star's only ambition.
France Football are scheduled to reveal the winner of this year's Ballon d'Or on Monday. As we edge closer to finding the winner of the prestigious award, pundits, former players and fans have been debating who is the favourite to bag it.
Many have tipped Bayern Munich frontman Robert Lewandowski to win his first Ballon d'Or next week, while Chelsea's Jorginho is also a strong candidate. However, there have been suggestions that PSG superstar Messi is in line to bag the award for the seventh time.
Messi winning the Ballon d'Or on Monday would come as bad news for Manchester United forward Ronaldo. The Argentinean currently has won one Ballon d'Or more than the 36-year-old and could extend the lead further next week.
Messi winning more Ballon d'Or awards than Ronaldo will not affect the Portugal international's legacy. However, he appears to be concerned about the former Barcelona star extending his lead.
France Football editor-in-chief Ferre has revealed that Ronaldo told him that his only ambition is to retire with more Ballon d'Or awards than Messi. He said:
“Ronaldo has only one ambition, and that is to retire with more Ballons d’Or than Messi and I know that because he has told me", Ferre told The New York Times.
Ferre also explained that there is a fierce rivalry between Messi and Ronaldo when it comes to winning the Ballon d'Or. He said:
“It is not to do with money. It is only the trophy. But to have one is to have a place in history. I think that if you looked at the statistics of Messi and Ronaldo, you would see they always score a lot of goals in September and October, when the voting is happening. That is not a coincidence.”
It remains to be seen if Messi will extend his lead over Ronaldo by winning his seventh Ballon d'Or award on Monday.
Can Cristiano Ronaldo retire with more Ballon d'Or wins than Lionel Messi?
Lionel Messi could win his seventh Ballon d'Or award next week and extend his lead over Cristiano Ronaldo. However, can the Manchester United star still retire with more Ballon d'Or wins than the Argentinean?
Despite being 36-years-old, Ronaldo still has two more years remaining on his contract with Manchester United. There are suggestions that the forward could extend his deal with the Red Devils by another year.
Ronaldo is certainly in the final years of his career as a football player. However, he does have time to catch up with Messi in terms of Ballon d'Or wins.
