Cristiano Ronaldo deserves to win Ballon d'Or, says Portugal coach

Juventus' Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates after opening the scoring during the UEFA Champions League group H football match Juventus vs Manchester United at the Allianz stadium in Turin on November 7, 2018. Pic/AFP

Portugal's national football team head coach Fernando Santos reiterated on Thursday that his forward and superstar Cristiano Ronaldo is worthy of being awarded the 2018 Ballon d'Or trophy.

Santos' remarks came during his press conference to announce Portugal's roster for the upcoming international play, from which Ronaldo was excluded for the third time since the end of the team's 2018 FIFA World Cup campaign, reports Efe.

The player and the Portuguese soccer federation agreed to rest "CR7" (Ronaldo's number) from the national team's duties in October and November. "The only thing I think about Ronaldo is that he deserves to win the Ballon d'Or," Santos said.

The 53rd annual award ceremony of Ballon d'Or, organised by the French magazine France Football, is scheduled to be held in Paris on December 3. Ronaldo has won five Golden Balls; one in 2008, while he was a Manchester United player, and in 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2017, as a Real Madrid player. Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are the two players with the most Ballon d'Ors, each having won the honour five times.

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