Ronaldo makes it 5
For much of Cristiano Ronaldo's career he has been in direct competition with Barcelona talisman Lionel Messi, both for club and individual honours, so it's fitting that the Real Madrid superstar has the same number of Ballon d'Or awards.
Ronaldo beat Messi and seven of his Champions League-winning Real teammates on Thursday to claim the award for the second straight year and fifth time overall, drawing level with Messi and reaffirming his place as equal partner in the greatest player rivalry the game has ever seen.
However Ronaldo, who will travel to Russia in 2018 in search of World Cup triumph after winning the European Championships in 2016, is not content with his record-equalling haul.
"I want seven. Five is good but seven is my lucky number so seven would be great," he said to French sports newspaper L'Equipe. "I want seven children (he has four) and seven Ballons d'Or."
Ronaldo winning the award is as historic as it is expected. He was 10-1 with British bookmakers before the announcement, who stopped taking bets once it became clear he was going to be rewarded for his role in Real's phenomenal 2016-17 season, in which they pipped Barcelona to the La Liga title and became the first ever European champions to defend their crown in the Champions League. Ronaldo scored 12 goals in the Champions League last season, including knockout stage hattricks against Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid and two in the 4-1 win over Juventus in the final, and 25 in La Liga.
The 32-year-old has got off to a slow start in La Liga this season but has scored a barely believable nine goals in the Champions League group stage.
After a career filled with club success, Ronaldo finally got an international monkey off his back in 2016, winning the European Championship with Portugal after a lifetime of near misses. In winning the competition, beating the heavily-favoured hosts France in the final, he broke yet another record -- his three goals made him the first player to ever score in four European Championships.
The personal and team success has convinced one man that he belongs among the best to ever play the game.
"When I finish my career, I will look at the statistics to see if I'm among the best," Ronaldo added. "Surely I will be."
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