Cristiano Ronaldo has reportedly started regretting leaving Real Madrid for Juventus, because of Lionel Messi’s recent Ballon d’Or victory, according to Spanish source ABC.
The most recent report claims the Portuguese forward believes he would have won two Ballon d’Or awards if he had stayed at the club. He even communicated these thoughts to his former Blancos teammates.
Lionel Messi was the last player to beat Ronaldo for the Ballon d’Or this year. The Argentine claimed his record-breaking sixth trophy, one more than the former Real star.
The Portuguese finished third in the 2019 Ballon d’Or rankings, 200 points behind Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk.
Last year, however, it was Ronaldo’s former colleague Luka Modric who scooped the Ballon d’Or. The Croatian midfielder was the first player in ten years to break the Messi-Ronaldo duopoly.
The report hints at Ronaldo’s possible decline at Juventus. It’s true that the Portuguese hasn’t been at his best lately. He is often substituted before the end of the game.
His goalscoring figures have dropped down significantly: Cristiano Ronaldo has only scored eight goals in 17 games in all competitions this season.
Lionel Messi, meanwhile, has shrugged off the injury-plagued start to the current season. The Argentine has even got ahead of Karim Benzema in the league too scorer charts with 12 goals against Benzema’s 11.
