Cristiano Ronaldo has insisted he is not obsessed with winning the Ballon d'Or for a second time in January despite a series of scintillating performances that have made him the strong favourite to win the award.
Ronaldo scored his fifth hat-trick of the season for club and country against Sweden to ensure Portugal will travel to next year’s World Cup and take his tally for the campaign to 31 goals in just 21 appearances.
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FIFA’s decision to extend the date for votes to be cast for the award from November 15 to November 29 is also expected to weigh heavily in Ronaldo’s favour with Barcelona’s Lionel Messi sidelined with a hamstring injury.
“I don’t think a lot about the Ballon d’Or. I know that it is handed out in January, but I cannot say that I will not go,” he told Spanish radio station COPE.u00a0“I prefer to not say anything because things don’t depend solely on me. I am not obsessed with the Ballon d’Or. We will see what happens.”