I want to be remembered as an all-time great, declares Cristiano Ronaldo at FIFA ceremony
The 29-year-old beat Lionel Messi and Manuel Neuer to win the prestigious Fifa Ballon d’Or after a season which saw him score 57 goals for club and country and win four trophies with Real Madrid.
Ronaldo has now been voted world footballer of the year three times, one short of four-time winner Messi, and stressed his determination to win more awards in the years to come.
Ronaldo said: “It has been an unforgettable year and to win a trophy of this kind is something unique.
“I want to continue working as I have so far to go on to win more titles as an individual and in a team.
“Of course this is something that is always with me.
“I want to become one of the greatest players of all time and this requires a lot of effort but I hope to get there.”
Ronaldo was a clear winner with 37.66% of total votes cast by a panel made up of captains, coaches and media members from all Fifa affiliate associations. Messi took second with 15.76%, just ahead of Neuer on 15.72%.
Ireland manager Martin O’Neill and skipper Robbie Keane both opted for Ronaldo and Messi in first and second.
Diego Costa was O’Neill’s third choice while Keane opted for Gareth Bale.
England manager Roy Hodgson left both Ronaldo and Messi out of his own top three, voting instead for Argentina’s Javier Mascherano ahead of Germany pair Philipp Lahm and Neuer.
Earlier, Messi responded to continuing transfer rumours by stressing he would like to end his career at Barcelona — but conceded that outcome was far from certain.
Having earlier denounced talk of a move to the Premier League as “lies”, Messi added: “I’m not sure where I’m going to be next year.
“I’ve always said I would like to finish my career at Barcelona... nobody knows what the future holds, much less so in the case of the football world, where so many things can change overnight.”
Germany manager Joachim Loew won the Coach of the Year award.
The World Cup winning coach beat Atletico Madrid’s Diego Simeone and Carlo Ancelotti of Real Madrid to the accolade.
Wolfsburg and Germany midfielder Nadine Kessler was named women’s player of the year. The 26-year-old beat Brazil’s Marta and United States international Abby Wambach.
Kessler said: “My heart is beating madly at the moment. I don’t think I ever thought in my life I would achieve this moment. Without my team-mates and my coach, this would never have been possible.
“I have a great degree of gratitude that I must give to my family. They have seen me through all the difficult times.”
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