Cristiano Ronaldo is hell-bent on ending his career with more Ballon d’Ors than his long-time rival Lionel Messi.
Ronaldo is eager to ensure that he wins the award this year, according to France Football editor in chief Pascal Ferre. The respected journalist revealed that the Manchester United has talked to him about his aims before he hangs his boots.
“Ronaldo has only one ambition, and that is to retire with more Ballons d’Or than Messi,” Ferré told the New York Times. “And I know that because he has told me.”
Ronaldo has won five Ballon d’Or awards in his career compared to Messi’s six. And ahead of the announcement for this year’s prize, the two are once again competing for the award.
The award is one of the most distinguished individual honors in football today and the decision will be announced on Monday.
The Ballon d’Or ceremony will take place at 19:30 GMT where the best male and female players on the planet will be crowned in Paris.
As things stand, Jorginho is considered a favorite to win the award this year following his excellent performances for Chelsea and the Italian national side for whom he became a European champion in the summer.
Robert Lewandowski was the favorite to win the award last year before the ceremony was cancelled. And the Pole has also a serious claim for winning the award. The same goes for Kylian Mbappe and N’Golo Kante who have been great in the last 12 months.
Here are the betting odds from Skybet for this year’s award:
Lionel Messi: 4/11
Roberto Lewandowski: 2/1
Karim Benzema: 25/1
Mohamed Salah: 25/1
Jorginho: 33/1
Cristiano Ronaldo: 66/1
Kylian Mbappe: 66/1
N’Golo Kante: 66/1
Bruno Fernandes 80/1
Gianluigi Donnarumma: 80/1
