- Cristiano Ronaldo thinks Barcelona ace Lionel Messi will win Ballon d’Or
- Ronaldo has clinched the last two gongs ahead of his Barcelona rival
- He claims he has enjoyed the best personal calendar year of his career
- But Messi won Champions League, La Liga and Copa del Rey in 2014-15
By
Jack Gaughan for the Daily Mail
Published:
00:01 GMT, 13 November 2015
|
Updated:
02:14 GMT, 13 November 2015
The Ballon d’Or appears a trophy too far for Cristiano Ronaldo this season after the Real Madrid forward all but conceded the title to Lionel Messi.
Ronaldo, who has clinched the last two gongs ahead of his Barcelona rival, claims he has enjoyed the best personal calendar year of his career.
But the 30-year-old believes Messi winning the Champions League, La Liga and Copa del Rey in 2014-15 will help swing it his way in January.

Cristino Ronaldo sees the funny side as he is interviewed by Jonathan Ross on the presenter’s show

Ross and Ronaldo are all smiles as the pair strike a pose during filming for the former’s talkshow

Real Madrid striker Ronaldo has all but conceded the Ballon d’Or title to Barcelona nemesis Lionel Messi
‘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.’
Ronaldo scored a staggering 66 goals in 58 games for club and country last season, 32 coming after the turn of the year, including five hat-tricks.
Add to that the 13 he has already notched this year and it edges him three clear of Messi’s 42 since January.
Barcelona’s Neymar is also expected to be named on the three-man Ballon d’Or shortlist, although it is likely to be a straight fight between the two rivals who have shared the last seven main awards.
‘I have a normal relationship (with Messi),’ Ronaldo – who is on the hunt for a fourth biggest prize in world football – added. ‘We share this stage at FIFA for eight years.
‘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 scored a staggering 66 goals in 58 games for club and country last season including five hattricks

Ronaldo believes Messi winning the Champions League, La Liga and Copa del Rey in 2014-15 could swing it

Barcelona and Brazil attacker Neymar is also expected to make the three-man short-list for the coveted award
‘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.’l
THE 59-MAN BALLON D’OR LONG-LIST
Claudio Bravo – Barcelona
Javier Mascherano – Barcelona
Andres Iniesta – Barcelona
Lionel Messi – Barcelona
Ivan Rakitic – Barcelona
Neymar – Barcelona
Luis Suarez – Barcelona
Gareth Bale – Real Madrid
Karim Benzema – Real Madrid
Sergio Ramos – Real Madrid
Cristiano Ronaldo – Real Madrid
Luka Modric – Real Madrid
James Rodriguez – Real Madrid
Toni Kroos – Real Madrid
Giorgio Chiellini – Juventus
Paul Pogba – Juventus
Alvaro Morata – Juventus
Arturo Vidal – Juventus/Bayern
Andrea Pirlo – Juventus/NYCFC
Carlos Tevez – Juventus/Boca
Robert Lewandowski – Bayern
Arjen Robben – Bayern
David Alaba – Bayern
Thomas Muller – Bayern
Manuel Neuer – Bayern
Wilfried Bony – Manchester City
Yaya Toure – Manchester City
Sergio Aguero – Manchester City
Nicolas Otamendi – Valencia/Manchester City
Kevin de Bruyne – Wolfsburg/Manchester City
Diego Costa – Chelsea
Willian – Chelsea
Thibaut Courtois – Chelsea
Eden Hazard – Chelsea
Edinson Cavani – PSG
Zlatan Ibrahimovic – PSG
Javier Pastore – PSG
Wayne Rooney – Manchester United
David de Gea – Manchester United
Memphis Depay – PSV/Manchester United
David Ospina – Arsenal
Alexis Sanchez – Arsenal
Antoine Griezmann – Atletico Madrid
Jackson Martinez – Porto/Atletico Madrid
Carlos Bacca – Sevilla/AC Milan
Giovani dos Santos – Villarreal/LA Galaxy
Phillippe Coutinho – Liverpool
Son Heung-Min – Leverkusen/Tottenham
Christian Atsu – Everton/Bournemouth
Paolo Guerrero – Flamengo/Corinthians
Eduardo Vargas – QPR/Hoffenheim
Gary Medel – Inter
Harry Kane – Tottenham
Alexandre Lacazette – Lyon
Andres Guardado – PSV
Carlos Sanchez – River Plate
Andre Ayew – Marseille/Swansea
Massimo Luongo – Swindon/QPR
Shinji Okazaki – Mainz/Leicester
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