Laureus winner Ronaldo never gave up hope

Ronaldo claimed that he never gave up hope of regaining full fitness after winning of the Laureus World Comeback of the Year award as well as collecting the World Team of the Year trophy on behalf of Brazil in Monte Carlo.

The Real Madrid star was rewarded after his exceptional recovery from serious knee problems.

Ronaldo was injured in October 1998 and played just six minutes of competitive football between November 1999 and September 2001.

He returned to the limelight in 2002 after three seasons of operations and a long recuperation and scored both goals as Brazil beat Germany 2-0 in last year’s World Cup final in Yokohama.

Ronaldo said: “I never thought I would not be able to make it. Football is my passion, the love of my life.

“I worked hard, every single day I was thinking that I would recover, and that I would be back.”

As well as scoring twice in the World Cup final in Japan, Ronaldo finished as the tournament’s leading scorer with eight goals.

“I did not take part in the qualifying phase because I was still recovering,” Ronaldo said. “But we went into the event and were not the favourites.

“It gave us the tranquility and calm we needed to prepare well. And it eventually helped us win this fifth title.”

He added: “I hope to keep winning titles until the last minutes, the last seconds of my career. That is why I work hard. My obsession is to score goals and score again.”

And the striker refused to rule out a move to the Premier League when he was asked if he wanted to play in England.

“I don’t know, I cannot guess my future,” Ronaldo added. “I am very happy at Real Madrid. We have four matches left before the end of the campaign and we intend to play well to win the Primera Liga.”

Meanwhile, four-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong received the Sportsman of the Year award and Serena Williams was named the Sportswoman of the Year.

Last year Michael Schumacher and Jennifer Capriati claimed the two awards.

Armstrong said: “I don’t know if I really deserve this award because I was in good company.”

The American beat off Ronaldo, Schumacher and Tiger Woods in the category.

Armstrong added: “This is honour, a very humbling trophy for me. It’s nice to have been selected by a group of people that are experts.”

The other winners on the night included Chinese basketball star Yao Ming (World Newcomer of the Year), speed climber Dean Potter (World Alternative Sportsperson of the Year), Michael Milton (World Alternative Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability), Gary Player (Lifetime Achievement award), while Arnold Schwarzenegger got the Sport for Good award.

The winners were chosen by the 41 members of the Laureus world sport academy including sports legends such as Franz Beckenbauer, Boris Becker, Sergei Bubka, Bobby Charlton, Sebastian Coe, John McEnroe, Martina Navratilova and Alberto Tomba.