Ronaldo hails amazing year after collecting FIFA award

Cristiano Ronaldo thanked his Real Madrid and Portugal teammates as well as coaches Zinedine Zidane and Fernando Santos after being named Best FIFA player of the year.

Ronaldo beat Barcelona’s Lionel Messi and Atletico Madrid’s Antoine Griezmann to the accolade, and feels he’s answered some doubters and was sure of winning the award.

“An amazing night, happy for winning this trophy for the first time, so very happy. It’s been an amazing year individual and collectively, so very happy. It was an amazing season, a very exciting year.

“I got the chance to speak with you, so I want to thank my mates both in Real Madrid and Portugal, my coaches Zinedine Zidane and Fernando Santos… We won a while ago the Club World Cup so I was sure (of winning). Some people had doubts, some made up some campaigns against me on and off the pitch, but we you deserve it people knows it. I’m very happy.

“I value every voter. Not only the players and managers, who knows football deeply, but the fans too, the journalists, because you have to respect every opinion, we live in a democracy, and everyone has a vote,” the elated Ronaldo said.

Meanwhile, Portugal head coach Santos called Ronaldo the best player in the world and said it would have been inconceivable for the 31-year-old not to win FIFA’s highest individual award.

“Yes, for sure. For me he is surely the best player in the world, this year even more, if I could say this, because when you’re the best you can’t do more than that, but what he did last year with the national team and with his club, winning the most important championships, it was almost inconceivable that Cristiano Ronaldo did not win.

“It was clear to me,” Santos said of Ronaldo who led his team to their first European cup.