I deserved the Ballon d'Or! - The numbers don't lie - Ronaldo

The Juventus striker missed out on clinching his sixth Ballon d’Or award this year as he finished second to his former teammate, Luka Modric

Cristiano Ronaldo is convinced he should have been the winner of this year's edition of Ballon d'Or, rather than finishing as runner-up to Luka Modric.

Luka Modric ended Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi dominance of the prestigious award https://www.kobbysports.com/2018/12/luka-modric-wins-ballon-dor-to-end.html?m=1

when he claimed the prize following a third successive Champions League success with Real Madrid and helping Croatia reach the World Cup final.

However, the former Madrid legend and Juventus striker Ronaldo, who played a phenomenal role in Madrid's Champions League-winning team, felt his Ballon d'Or case was stronger.

So far this year, Ronaldo has scored 45 goals in 48 games for both club and country. In April, he broke the record for scoring in the most consecutive Champions League matches when he found the net for an 11th game in a row.

In an interview with Italian newspapers, Ronaldo said : "I think I deserve [to win the Ballon d'Or] every year.”

"I work for that, but if I do not win, it's not the end of the world.”

"The numbers do not lie, but do not think that I'm less happy if I do not win.”

"I have fantastic friends and I have family, I play in one of the best clubs, do you think I'll go home and cry?

"[I am] disappointed but life goes on and I will still work hard.”

"Congratulations to Modric, he deserves it, but next year we will see each other again and I will do everything to be still there."

Ronaldo’s good start to his career in Juventus has put him in a potential position to claim the 2019 award, with his 10 Serie A goals helping his new club open up an eight-point lead at the top of the table in Italy.

They have also through to the knockout stages of the Champions League with a game to spare. On the international scene, he has the opportunity of silverware after Portugal reached the Nations League semi-finals despite their Ronaldo opting out of the group stage matches.