CRISTIANO RONALDO would have won the Ballon d’Or if he still played for Real Madrid, claimed Jorge Mendes.
The super agent, 53, insisted “it’s an injustice” after the Juventus star finished behind Virgil van Dijk and Lionel Messi.
Cristiano Ronaldo has scored 11 goals for Juventus this seasonCredit: Rex Features
Barcelona star Messi, 32, made history as he won football’s most prestigious gong for the sixth time earlier this month.
Ronaldo has not bagged the Ballon d’Or since 2017 after former Real Madrid team-mate Luka Modric won it last year.
And Mendes has insisted it would have been a different story if Ronaldo did not join Juventus in July 2018.
He said: “Cristiano deserved to win at least one Ballon d’Or in the last two years.
“If he’d played for Madrid, he would have won one. But I think he can win it again next year.
“For me, it’s an injustice. He won the Nations League, he’s a champion.
“But he knows what he has to do and we will see what happens in 2020.”
Mendes claimed this summer that Ronaldo came from another planet to become the best player on earth.
After arriving in Italy, the Portuguese ace guided Juventus to the Serie A title with 21 goals during the 2018/19 campaign.
And Ronaldo snubbed the Ballon d’Or ceremony to pick up a Serie A award for his stand-out performances in the league.
The ex-Manchester United star is set to end the decade outside of the top thirty best players in Europe, according to CIES index.
But Mendes has insisted the 34-year-old is the best player to ever grace the pitch.
He said: “Cristiano, for me, is the best player in the history of the game.
“Before him, Portugal had won nothing. With him, they’ve won the Euros, the Nations League, in 2004 they made the final of the Euros.
“He transformed football. When someone speaks about Portugal, they speak about a small country that with Cristiano has changed everything.
Agent Jorge Mendes claimed Cristiano Ronaldo is the best footballer in historyCredit: Reuters
“He joined Madrid in 2009 when Barcelona were the best team in history, with the spine of the Spanish team.
“Spain were world champions and two-time Euro winners. Cristiano changed everything.
“He won the Champions League four times. It’s impossible to compare a player with Cristiano.”
Cristiano Ronaldo loses his cool in Juventus training and smashes three balls into the air
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
