Cristiano Ronaldo has admitted defeat in the 2015 Ballon d’Or race, conceding that long-time rival Lionel Messi will take the award this year.
Ronaldo outscored Messi in La Liga by 48 goals to 43 last season, and by eight to three this season, but while the Real Madrid star ended 2014-15 without a trophy, Messi led Barcelona to the treble.
Ronaldo believes that his two-year streak of Ballon d’Or wins is coming to an end as a result.
The bauble is something of an obsession for Madrid’s all-time
record goalscorer and he won the FIFA Ballon d’Or in 2013 and 2014 as
well as lifting the award’s predessor in 2008.
However, Messi won in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 and looks certain to extend his record to five.
“To be honest I think Messi is going to win,” Ronaldo said on
The Jonathan Ross Show. “This kind of trophy depends on votes and he won
competitions. He won the Champions League and La Liga.
“I have a normal relationship (with Messi). No-one did that in
the past, only us. So it's good, I have a good relationship with him. We
are not old friends but we respect each other.”
Ronaldo did collect the Golden Shoe award as the record
goalscorer in all of Europe’s leagues last season though and says he had
a fulfilling campaign on a personal level.
“In terms of individual (performances) I probably did the best
season of my career, which is good. I was the highest scorer in Europe,”
Ronaldo added.
“It's all about votes. It's difficult. To be honest I'm not very
worried about that because I never thought I'd win three times. To win
it once is incredible.”
0 comments:
Post a Comment