Ballon d'Or: I cannot expect a better night than this one, says Cristiano Ronaldo
- 10 years ago
Cristiano Ronaldo, second-time winner of the Ballon d'Or trophy, says he cannot expect a better night than this one, even in his dreams.
Cristiano Ronaldo couldn't hide how much it meant to him, finally being voted the world's best player again.
Having spent four years in the shadow of his great rival Lionel Messi, Ronaldo broke down in tears after being elected the Ballon d'Or winner for 2013 on Monday - a rare display of emotion that showed just how important it was for the Portugal winger to lay his hands on the trophy again.
Ronaldo first won football's biggest individual prize five years ago, but then watched as Messi found a way of upstaging him each year despite consistently scoring at an unprecedented rate for Real Madrid.
"There are no words to describe this moment," said Ronaldo, crying openly while his 3-year-old son, also named Cristiano, stood at his feet next to Pele
Speaking after the award ceremony, Ronaldo told reporters how it felt to stand next to the great Brazilian player:
"It (he) was a legend of football, and to be mentioned next to him for the Golden Ball it was a an unbelievable feeling. I cannot expect a better night than this one even in my dreams. So I have to be proud of my work, what I did during the year - and this is going to give me motivation to work more and dedicate myself more for the future. And I hope to be here next year to try to win the third one."
In a tight race, Ronaldo received 1,365 points, Messi had 1,205 and Franck Ribery, the France and Bayern Munich winger, got 1,127. Voting was done by national team captains and coaches, plus selected journalists in each FIFA member country.
Get the latest headlines http://www.telegraph.co.uk/
Subscribe to The Telegraph http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=telegraphtv
Like us on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/telegraph.co.uk
Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/telegraph
Follow us on Google+ https://plus.google.com/102891355072777008500/
Telegraph.co.uk and YouTube.com/TelegraphTV are websites of The Daily Telegraph, the UK's best-selling quality daily newspaper providing news and analysis on UK and world events, business, sport, lifestyle and culture.
Cristiano Ronaldo couldn't hide how much it meant to him, finally being voted the world's best player again.
Having spent four years in the shadow of his great rival Lionel Messi, Ronaldo broke down in tears after being elected the Ballon d'Or winner for 2013 on Monday - a rare display of emotion that showed just how important it was for the Portugal winger to lay his hands on the trophy again.
Ronaldo first won football's biggest individual prize five years ago, but then watched as Messi found a way of upstaging him each year despite consistently scoring at an unprecedented rate for Real Madrid.
"There are no words to describe this moment," said Ronaldo, crying openly while his 3-year-old son, also named Cristiano, stood at his feet next to Pele
Speaking after the award ceremony, Ronaldo told reporters how it felt to stand next to the great Brazilian player:
"It (he) was a legend of football, and to be mentioned next to him for the Golden Ball it was a an unbelievable feeling. I cannot expect a better night than this one even in my dreams. So I have to be proud of my work, what I did during the year - and this is going to give me motivation to work more and dedicate myself more for the future. And I hope to be here next year to try to win the third one."
In a tight race, Ronaldo received 1,365 points, Messi had 1,205 and Franck Ribery, the France and Bayern Munich winger, got 1,127. Voting was done by national team captains and coaches, plus selected journalists in each FIFA member country.
Get the latest headlines http://www.telegraph.co.uk/
Subscribe to The Telegraph http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=telegraphtv
Like us on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/telegraph.co.uk
Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/telegraph
Follow us on Google+ https://plus.google.com/102891355072777008500/
Telegraph.co.uk and YouTube.com/TelegraphTV are websites of The Daily Telegraph, the UK's best-selling quality daily newspaper providing news and analysis on UK and world events, business, sport, lifestyle and culture.