Ronaldo would have had my Ballon d’Or vote not Modric, says former teammate

What's the news?

Former Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney revealed that he would have voted for Cristiano Ronaldo to win the Ballon d'Or last year.

In case you didn't know...

The Croatian and Real Madrid superstar, Luka Modric, marked an end to the Cristiano Ronaldo-Lionel Messi duopoly by clinching the award in 2018.

The midfielder was brilliant for Real Madrid throughout the 2017-18 season and helped the Los Blancos win their third successive Champions League title. Modric scored two goals in all competitions last season and also bagged eight assists.

On the other side, Ronaldo finished as the runners up last year and missed the chance of winning the award for the record sixth time. The Portuguese international finished as the top goalscorer in the Champions League last campaign and played a vital role in Real Madrid's success.

The 34-year old moved to Juventus from Real Madrid in the summer last year and is in a brilliant form since then. He is currently the top goalscorer in the Serie A this season and is right behind Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe in the race for the European Golden Shoe.

The heart of the matter

Speaking to DAZN (via Goal), Wayne Rooney reveals that Cristiano Ronaldo would have had his vote for the Ballon d'Or over Modric.

"Luka Modric is a fantastic player. I think his passing is great and the way he moves with the ball.

Actually he doesn't look that quick to the eye but when you play against him he glides past players. He's a fantastic player, he's had a great career."

He further elaborated:

"I don't think he's the best player in the world but in terms of the year is he worthy of it? Of course, he is. He had a great year with Real Madrid and obviously had a great run as captain with Croatia.

"I think if it was player-voted I would have voted for Ronaldo this year, but taking nothing away from Luka Modric. He won it so he deserves it."

What's next?

Ronaldo's Juventus will play Napoli in the league next, whereas, Real Madrid will host Barcelona at the Bernabeu Stadium for the second leg of the Copa del Rey semi-finals on February 27.

On the other hand, Wayne Rooney currently plays for Major League Soccer side, DC United and will commence their season against Atlanta United on March 4.