Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo has admitted that he expects Barcelona counterpart Lionel Messi to win the 2015 FIFA Ballon d’Or.
In an appearance on The Jonathan Ross Show, which will be aired to British audiences on Saturday, the 30-year all-but-conceded the individual award to the Argentine for his treble exploits last season, although he stopped short of branding him his rival.
“To be honest I think Messi is going to win this year because this kind of trophy, it depends on votes and he won competitions,” he said.
“He won the Champions League and La Liga. I did probably the best season of my career which is good and I was the highest scorer in Europe [but] it’s all about votes.
“It’s difficult and to be honest I’m not very worried about that because as I said many times, I never thought I’d win three times to be honest.
“I don’t have rivals, we have a normal relationship. We shared this stage at FIFA for eight years.
“No-one has done that in the past – only us – so it’s good. I have a good relationship with him, he plays for one club, and I play for another club.
“He won the best for him, I won the best for me. We have a good relationship, we are not home friends but we respect each other.”
