‘I am the best player in history’: Ronaldo’s comments after winning the Ballon d’Or are pure gold

Cristiano Ronaldo, fresh from winning his Ballon d’Or title, observed that he was the best player of all time. The Portuguese also revealed that his morale dipped after his Barcelona rival and fellow five-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi shot ahead of him a few years ago.

The 32-year-old minced no words when it came to talking about his greatness: “No other player has won as many individual trophies as me. And I’m not only talking here about the Ballon d’Or,” Ronaldo was quoted as saying by Francefootball. “That says something, no?

“It’s not only the work that I’m doing in the gym, like people think. It’s a combination of many things. Legends like Floyd Mayweather or LeBron James, they didn’t get to this level of perfection by chance. It must be many factors coming together. To be at the top and stay there, you must always have more talent than others. You know, I respect everyone’s preferences. But I don’t see anyone better than me. I always thought that.

There is nobody like me

While there is little doubt that Ronaldo is among the two modern day greats for his remarkable goalscoring consistency over the past decade, he may not feature in everyone’s all-time starting XI. The former Manchester United forward, though, doesn’t think his rivals from his past or the present can replicate his feats, “No other footballer does things that I am not capable of doing. But I see that I do things that others can’t do. There’s no player more complete than me. I play well with two feet, I’m fast, powerful, good with headers, I score goals, I deliver assists.”

“People have the right to prefer Neymar or Messi. But I insist: There is no one more complete than me. ...

“You will go and say that I have a big head, but when you’re at the top, it’s normal that you’re criticised. ... I am the best player in history, in both good and bad times.”

...was angry when Messi overtook me

It was Ronaldo who set the pace in the annual awards gala, picking his first award as a United player after leading the Red Devils to a Premier League and a Champions League triumph in 2007-’08 and scoring 42 goals over the course of that season. Messi soon caught up and won the next four Ballon d’Or titles, which Ronaldo says, made him dejected.

“I won a Ballon d’Or before Messi and then he overtook me winning four in a row,” he said. “I can’t hide the fact I was sad and angry. I went to the awards ceremony and never won. I was even demotivated. I didn’t want to go there anymore. I wasn’t interested in being there for the photo.”

“And then, little by little, thanks to the support of those around me, I said to myself that everything has a start and an end. And that in football, it’s the end that counts, not the start. I was patient, and I’ve won other Ballons d’Or. Today is the fifth, and that pushes me more to keep fighting, without thinking of my age.”

“I didn’t think I’d be able to catch Messi, because after I won my first, he won four, and I thought it would be difficult to equal him,” the Real Madrid ace said. “But football gives you the opportunity to keep working and winning, and I have won, and I’m experiencing a great period.”