Cristiano Ronaldo News: 'Ronaldo deserves Ballon d'Or over Lionel Messi', says Australian star

What’s the story?

Australian star Tim Cahill has revealed his favorite to secure the next Ballon d'Or, as he backed Cristiano Ronaldo for to win the esteemed award.

In case you didn’t know..

After enjoying a stellar season with Barcelona, Lionel Messi is undoubtedly the red hot favorite to claim this year's Ballon d'Or. The Argentine found the net 36 times and managed a further 15 assists in La Liga this season. His exploits led Barcelona to clinch the league title, their eighth in 11 years, although a humiliating defeat at the hands of Liverpool at Anfield halted their Champions League hopes.

On the contrary, Cristiano Ronaldo inspired Juventus to another Serie A title this season having ended his 9-year stint at Real Madrid. The Portuguese megastar netted 21 goals and registered 11 assists in the process.

Presently, both arch-rivals are tied on 5 Ballon d'Or awards, meaning that 2019 could be the year of the tiebreaker.

The heart of the matter

While talking to Alkass Sport, Cahill stated:

"The reason why I say Ronaldo, I know people won't agree, is because of what he's done in Juventus."

"He left Real Madrid, went there and had such a massive impact on another league. I've never seen another player do it at Man United, Madrid for so many years."

"And I know he didn't win the Champions League but he has such an impact in any club. If you can take players and put them somewhere at his age..."

"I know people won't agree, I just appreciate his professionalism."

Cahill's opinion has already been seconded by Ronaldo's former Juventus teammate, Medhi Benatia, as reported by Calciomercato.

What's next?

Both Messi and Ronaldo have still got a match at hand. Barcelona will be vying for Copa del Rey title this Saturday as they go head-to-head against Valencia, while Juventus will play their last Serie A game versus Sampdoria on Sunday.