Ronaldo admits Messi might win Ballon d’Or this year

Cristiano Ronaldo has said that he thinks Lionel Messi will be voted the Best Player in the World this year. He is, however, still confident he can win the prize again.

The Real Madrid star has picked up the Ballon d’Or for the last two years, but feels that Messi will win it this time, after claiming the Treble with Barcelona.

“This kind of trophy depends on votes and Messi won competitions,” Ronaldo told ITV.

“He won the Champions League and La Liga.

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

“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.”

The 30-year-old, however, expects to win the title again in the future and believes he can still play at the top level for many more seasons.

“Well, I’m still young, I think… I think I can [win another Ballon d’Or],” he added.

“I want to play six, seven years more and I think I’m still able to win collective things because if you don’t win collective things, you cannot win individual awards.”