Cristiano Ronaldo's old comments on Ballon d'Or resurface ahead of 2024 award gala

Five-time winner Cristiano Ronaldo questioned the credibility of the Ballon d'Or earlier this year in surprising comments. The Portuguese superstar also talked about his goal-scoring numbers with Al Nassr last year, hinting that he should've been among the favorites as well.

While in conversation with RECORD earlier this year, Ronaldo even hinted that his stats were better than Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland and said:

"Ballon d'Or and The Best are losing credibility. Numbers are reality. We have to analyze the entire season. It's not to say that Messi didn't deserve the award, or Haaland or even [Kylian] Mbappe. I simply no longer believe in these awards."

"It's not because I won at the Globe Soccer but these are facts, numbers are there and they don't deceive. They can't take this trophy away from me because it is a reality. I'm happier because the numbers are facts. If you go back and see what happened at Man United and Portugal, people actually considered me lost. But the truth is that I focused and had a great period at Al Nassr, that's why I scored 54 goals," he added.

The quotes resurfaced after reports emerged that Manchester City midfielder Rodri would win the Ballon d'Or this year over Real Madrid star Vinicius Jr. The Spanish side have thus decided to boycott the gala, as per reports in AS.

Cristiano Ronaldo not worried about being the best player in the world after Ballon d'Or snub

Cristiano Ronaldo spoke about individual awards earlier this month as well and stated that he was not focused on them anymore. The Portuguese star was not among the top 30 for the Ballon d'Or - making it the second year running when he did not make the list.

Ronaldo said (via Reuters):

"It was a strong and difficult match like all the matches in the AFC Champions League, but the most important thing is that we created many chances and defended well to prevent the opponent from creating easy chances. It is not important anymore whether I am the best or not, I no longer care about that.

"It is good for a player to score goals, but for me it is better for the team to win. I am used to breaking records and I no longer look for them. The most important thing for me now is to enjoy and help Al Nassr and my teammates to win."

Along with Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi is also not in the top 30 of the Ballon d'Or this year. The Argentine won the Copa America with Argentina but was not at his best with Inter Miami in the MLS before the cut-off date for the award due to injuries.