“There are no words to describe this moment,” an extremely proud Cristiano Ronaldo said as he tried in vain to hold back tears of emotion on being awarded FIFA’s coveted “Ballon d’Or” at the annual football awards gala in Zurich last night.
It was the second time the ‘king of football’ had clinched the award – wrestling it back from record-holder Lionel Messi – and despite the tears, he managed an impressive thank-you speech from the podium, including everyone from his managers at Real Madrid, teammates in the Portuguese national team, top-model girlfriend Irina Shayk, equally tearful family and even include a mention of Eusébio and Nélson Mandela.
“Another magnificent conquest in his career,” is how Prime Minister Passos Coelho described the news, while President of the Republic Cavaco Silva said: “It is recognition of his exceptional sporting level”.
Ronaldo, 28, received 27.99% of the FIFA votes, against 24.72% going to Messi, and 23.36% going to the only other contender for the award, French player Franck Ribéry.
Cristiano Ronaldo is world’s greatest player!
The Portuguese nation has had an emotional two weeks – after the death of football legend Eusébio on Sunday, January 5, this was the news they had been waiting for to cheer them up – Cristiano Ronaldo being declared the world’s greatest player.
