Ballon d'Or winner, Cristiano Ronaldo has revealed that he might have won the most prestigious individual award more than his rival, Lionel Messi if both of them had played in the same team.
Cristiano Ronaldo has told France Football he believes he might have won the Ballon d'Or more times than Lionel Messi if they had played on the same team, but described his rival as "a great player."
Barcelona forward Messi, 29, came second to Ronaldo, 31, in the 2016 vote, but has five Ballons d'Or to the Real Madrid man's four.
Portugal captain Ronaldo polled a massive 745 points over 400 more than Messi in this year's poll, which canvassed a handpicked panel of journalists worldwide.
On whether he would have claimed the award more times had they played on the same side, Ronaldo said: "It's a difficult question. I don't know.
"It would be interesting to see both of us in the same team. I think great players should play together. So if we were in the same team, I think I would have more than him, but he wouldn't be far off.
"Everyone knows Messi is a great player. He's won five Ballons d'Or."
He said he was hopeful he would draw level with the Argentine star's tally in 2017, saying: "I'm going to try. I'll be in the fight, as always, but my objective now is to win the Club World Cup, an important trophy.
"After that, to win La Liga. It's a title that Real wants to win. And if possible, the Champions League again and the Copa del Rey. I always want to win everything."
Though Madrid missed out on the league title despite his 35 goals in 36 league games, Ronaldo won the Champions League as well as Euro 2016 with Portugal.