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 in midweek to ensure Portugal will travel to next year's
World Cup in Brazil and take his tally for the campaign to 31 goals in
just 21 appearances.
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, winner of the award for
the past four years, sidelined until the end of the year with a
hamstring injury.
And the former Manchester United man, who was previously crowned World
Player of the Year in 2008, refused to confirm rumours that he was
considering not even attending the awards ceremony after reacting
angrily to comments Fifa president Sepp Blatter made recently about his
demeanour on the field.
"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.
"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."
However, worryingly for Madrid's rivals, Ronaldo insisted he is focusing
on continuing to improve his staggering return of 225 goals in 216
games since joining the club over four years ago.
"In my head I always think I can improve. My ambition is always to be
better. Perhaps you reach a level that is hard to beat, but I always
think I can improve in everything.
"The best thing is that, right now, I am better prepared and you could
say that I am in one of the best moments of my career. I have
demonstrated a very high and good level and I hope to maintain that for
the rest of my career."
And, having recently signed a new deal with the Spanish giants tying him
to the club until 2018, the 28-year-old reiterated his desire to retire
as a Madrid player.
"I don't think a lot about the future. I prefer to think more about the
present. When the present is good, when you are happy and motivated to
do things well then you are less worried about the future.
"But truthfully, right now, I feel like I want to end my career here
because I feel very happy .I love living in Madrid, I love playing for
the best club in the world and I can't ask for more."
