Last week, Cristiano Ronaldo gave an interview and discussed life under Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane, the Ballon d’Or and his future plans. During his interview he spoke about the influence Zidane has had on him since taking over the Los Blancos’ reins at the start of the calendar year: “I have a fantastic relationship with Zidane. I was a fan of his as a player and I’m even more a fan of his as a coach. He’s a very good person and a great man. He will continue to learn as a manager.”
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The Portugal talisman has had an incredible year; winning the Champions League with Real Madrid and captaining his national team to glory in the European Championships. His achievements on the pitch have seen him established as the favourite to win the Ballon d’Or come January, in what could be his 4th win of the highest and most prestigious individual award a footballer can lay claim to.
Ronaldo spoke to French television station TF1’s show Téléfoot in Lisbon, a week before scoring a hat-trick against cross-city rivals Atletico Madrid at the Vicente Calderon that saw Real Madrid consolidate their spot at the top of the table and further strengthened the Portuguese’s claim to the Ballon d’Or, for which voting draws to a close this week.
The interview was recently aired as a part of a mini-feature for the Portuguese star. Ronaldo will have fond memories of the Téléfoot studio, having received his first ever Ballon d’Or in their studio in 2009. With the award also returning to France Football, Ronaldo will likely be back in Paris this January as one of the three finalists for this year’s award.
Speaking about the annual award, which the Portugal captain has won 3 times in his storied career, he said he was optimistic but not obsessed with picking up the prize: “I have done everything possible to win the Ballon d’Or. With the Champions League and the European Championship… it has been an incredible year for me, my best season so far.”
“But the voting doesn’t depend on me so I can’t allow myself to become obsessed with it. But if you ask me if I want to win the Ballon d’Or, I’d say that yes, I do, I’m not going to lie about it. I’m confident because this has been the best season of my career,” he added.
Fans and club alike will hope that Ronaldo can continue his blistering form for the foreseeable future with a crucial run of fixtures coming up in the league, including a trip to the Camp Nou to face arch-rivals Barcelona.
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