Cristiano Ronaldo says Vinicius deserved the Ballon d’Or

Cristiano Ronaldo spoke on Friday, as the Globe Soccer Awards in Dubaiand gave his candid opinion on the recent controversy surrounding the Ballon d’Or.

“Vinicius should have won the Ballon d’Or. Rodri deserved it too, but Vinicius won the Champions League and scored a goal in the final…” said the Al Nassr star. ”Other things don’t matter to me, when one person deserves it, you have to choose a fair winner. In my opinion, I don’t hesitate to say it, it was unfair.”

Cristiano also revealed his post-career plans. “I am not a coach, I will never be a coach. I won’t be president either, but I could eventually become a club owner. It will always depend on the moment and the opportunities…”.

“I think clubs should better supervise their young players so that they can obtain results. Modern football is becoming more and more intense. Players like Lamine Yamal, who, at just 17 years old, is already a world figure. This was not as common in the past,” Cristiano added.

What is Cristiano’s opinion on Ligue 1?

Concerning the French League, Cristiano does not hide his lack of enthusiasm: “In France, there is only PSG. The others are finished. I don’t care about the comments on this. France only has PSG. The others try to compete, of course, but PSG is the strongest. Nobody competes with them. They have better players, more money. It’s not a lie. I don’t understand people’s surprise.”

He also defended the Saudi Pro League, where he has played with Al Nassr since 2022: “You have to go there and play to understand. Running in 39, 40 degrees… they should go and see. Don’t believe my words.”

Finally, he mentioned the situation of his former club, Real Madridwho is starting to react after a bad start to the season and numerous injury problems. “People don’t expect Real Madrid to be good from the start, but they always end up being good when it counts. Now they are ahead of Barcelona,” explained Cristiano, before betting on his former club to win their 16th Champions League.

“And Madrid… if I had to bet on the winner of the Champions League, I would put my money on Real Madrid, because you never know what will happen. The aura of the Bernabéu is different, teams are afraid to play there. It’s a fact, history proves it. Never consider Madrid dead, because they always get back up – just like City. I am very curious to see what will happen,” concluded Cristiano.

Cristiano is one of the finalists for the male price at tonight’s gala, alongside Jude Bellingham, Dani Carvajal, Antoine Griezmann, Erling Haaland, Harry Kane, Toni Kroos, Robert Lewandowski, Viktor Gyokeres, Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé, Ademola Lookman, Lautaro Martinez, Cole Palmer, Rodrigo, Mohamed Salah, Yamine Lamal and Vinicius.

Vinicius won the men’s award while Jude Bellingham was crowned best midfielder and winner of the Maradona Awards.