Cristiano Ronaldo's Agent Slams Decision To Give Lionel Messi The Ballon D'Or

Posted Wednesday, December 18, 2019 by sportbible

Cristiano Ronaldo's agent Jorge Mendes has slammed the decision to award Lionel Messi this year's Ballon d'Or.

Messi won his sixth Ballon d'Or at the beginning of the month narrowly beating Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk.

Ronaldo finished third as Messi sixth award eclipsed the Portuguese forward's record of five.

Mendes was furious with the decision and told Tuttosport per The Express,

"The Ballon d'Or to Messi? For me it's an injustice.

"Cristiano is the best in the history of football. Before him Portugal had not won anything, with him the [2016] European Championship and the Nations League."

He also went on to say that Ronaldo would have won the Ballon d'Or if he still played for Real Madrid.

"The Ballon d'Or? Had he played at Real [Madrid] he would have won it.

"He has transformed world football, in Portugal, at Real Madrid. It's impossible to compare him to anyone."

It lines up with the rumours that the 34-year-old regrets leaving the Spanish capital due to the harm it's caused him in Ballon d'Or rankings.

According to ABC per The Mirror, he's told former teammates that he thinks he'd have added to his five previous Ballon d'Or successes if he stayed with 'Los Blancos'.

He has also voiced his disappointment at missing out on individual awards while playing in Italy.

It's hard to dispute the forward wouldn't be in the conversation considering his La Liga career.

He won four of his Ballon d'Or's while in Madrid as well as four Champions League titles and two La Ligas.

Ronaldo last won the Ballon d'Or in 2017, with 2018's nod going to former Madrid colleague Luka Modric and this year's award going to Messi.

It's hard to dispute the Argentine forward deserving the award as he consistently performs at the highest level.

He'll be able to perform on the biggest stage when Barcelona take on Real Madrid Wednesday night in the first El Clasico of the season.

Both sides are on 35 points at the top of La Liga so it will be an interesting affair at the Nou Camp.

However, the fixture hasn't been the same since Ronaldo's departure in 2018 and Messi himself agrees with that.

He told RAC 1 per ESPN,

"I think it gave an extra impetus to our rivalry, to the Clasico and to La Liga overall.

"I remember I said earlier this year that Madrid would notice Cristiano's departure, just as any other team would, but even so, they have enough players to be at the top and fighting for everything. It's Madrid and they have a lot of history."