Ronaldo backs rival Messi to win Ballon D’Or

Current FIFA Ballon d’Or holder Cristiano Ronaldo has backed Barcelona rival Lionel Messi to take home the prestigious award in January. 

Ronaldo won the Ballon d’Or for the third time last year but he has predicted that Messi, after a treble-winning season for Barcelona, will claim his fifth when the pair go head to head in Zurich this January.

“To be honest I think Messi is going to win this year because this kind of trophy, it depends on votes,” he said on an appearance on The Jonathan Ross Show. “He won the Champions League and La Liga.”

Ronaldo also claimed he enjoyed one of his best seasons personally last year but said that falling short of winning another Ballon d’Or will not bother him

“In terms of individual (performances), I probably did the best season of my career, which is good. I was the highest scorer in Europe. 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.”

When asked if his rivalry with Messi was fuelled by the fight for the right to be known as the World Player of the Year, Ronaldo said:  “I don’t have rivals, we have a normal relationship. We shared this stage at Fifa for eight years. No one has done that in the past , only us, so it’s good.

“I have a good relationship with him. He plays for one club, I play for another club. He won the best for him, I won the best for me. We have a good relationship, we are not home friends but we respect each other.”