Ronaldo still has bragging rights over Messi despite Ballon d’Or anger
Despite seeing Lionel Messi win his seventh Ballon d’Or on Monday night, Cristiano Ronaldo still retains bragging rights over the Argentine in the award.
Ronaldo has won the Golden Ball five times over the course of his career, but was only voted sixth in this year’s rankings of the world’s best player.
The Portuguese attacker had launched a scathing attack on the editor in chief of the award organisers France Football ahead of the ceremony, as he stayed away from the event.
In the lead-up to the ceremony, Pascal Ferre had claimed that Ronaldo had told him the only ambition in his career was to win more Ballon d’Ors than Messi.
It was an allegation Ronaldo robustly refuted in a statement he posted on social media on Monday.
“Pascal Ferre lied, he used my name to promote himself and to promote the publication he works for,” the statement read.
"It is unacceptable that the person responsible for awarding such a prestigious prize could lie in this way, in absolute disrespect for someone who has always respected France Football and the Ballon d'Or.
“I always want to congratulate those who win, within the sportsmanship and fair-play that have guided my career since the beginning, and I do it because I'm never against anyone.”
Should Cristiano Ronaldo have been given a higher placing in the Ballon d'Or? Let us know in the comments section…
As if that was not enough, Ronaldo then had to see Messi be handed his seventh Ballon d’Or, two more than he has been awarded.
The 36-year-old does have one remaining bragging right over his bitter rival in the Ballon d’Or though.
That is that Ronaldo has won more points from his nominations for the award than Messi has during his own career.
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The United star has claimed 3,781 points from his nominations, with Messi more than 200 points behind him on 3,574.
613 of Messi’s points came this year, as he beat Robert Lewandowski to the award, with Ronaldo receiving 178 points to finish a lowly sixth.
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