Ronaldo Should Have Won Ballon D

By Max Wise

Juventus manager Maximiliano Allegri believes Cristiano Ronaldo would have been a worthier recipient of the Balon d'Or than Luka Modric.

Notwithstanding the result, Allegri thinks Ronaldo could pick inspiration from the outcome of this year's award to win it next season.

Modric on Monday became the first player, other than Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, to win the coveted award in the last ten years.

Ronaldo and Modric both won the 2017/2018 UEFA Champions League with Real Madrid, but it was at the World Cup in Russia that the Croatian shone brightest, leading his country to the final before eventually losing 4-2 to France.

"I think he (Ronaldo) deserved to win the Ballon d'Or for what he did with Real Madrid, winning the Champions League," he told reporters on Tuesday.

"At the World Cup with Portugal honestly he couldn't go any further [than the round of 16]. Therefore, I mean, he deserved it."

"But I think that this can be a motivation to do even better this season and win the next Ballon d'Or with Juventus."

A record sixth Ballon d'Or for Ronaldo would have made him the seventh Juventus player to win the award after Omar Sivori (1961), Paulo Rossi (1982), Michel Platini  (1983,1984,1985), Roberto Baggio(1993), Zinedine Zidane (1998) and Pavel Nedved (2003).