Cristiano Ronaldo has made clear that if he does not win the FIFA Ballon d’Or this year, then it is not a disaster.
The Real Madrid man is shortlisted alongside Barcelona duo Andres Iniesta and Lionel Messi for the 2012 edition of the prize to recognise the world’s best player from the past 12 months.
However, winning it or not, the player has asserted that whilst he would like to win it, it is not the end of the world if he does not.
“I cannot exist just for individual awards, it would not be right, the career of a player is not marked by individual trophies, but by the collective,” stated the 27-year-old to the Portuguese Football Federation’s official website.
“When the decision is known [for this year’s Ballon d’Or winner], I may be very happy, I may be sad…but it remains a fact of life, if you win, perfect, if not then have patience, life goes on.
“Obviously I would like to win, I will not be a hypocrite or a liar, it is something that I covert, but I cannot think about if I don’t win. Unfair or fair, it will have to be.”
The forward then reflected on his record so far with his national team. Portugal have lost the Euro 2004 Final and twice been eliminated from major tournaments at the semi-final stage with Ronaldo in the team.
“We have lacked a bit of luck. We have been two or three times very close to achieving something important and in fact in the last competition we played we were beaten on penalties by the Spanish.
“To win a title, you always have to have a little luck, both at club and international level and I think that is what we have lacked in recent years.”
