Real Madrid’s Portuguese winger Cristiano Ronaldo. (Reuters)
Cristiano Ronaldo is the man who deserves this year’s Ballon d’Or the most, in the opinion of Russia’s Italian-born coach, Fabio Capello.
“This year, yes,” Capello said in the Brazilian resort of Costa do Sauipe, where he is attending the 2014 World Cup draw.
He noted that Ronaldo, who won the Ballon d’Or in 2008, went on to see the award go to Messi for the four following years, which according to Capello made sense given Messi’s great “merits.”
“But if we’re talking about this season, I think Cristiano Ronaldo has done very important things,” Capello said.
“The [World Cup] qualification [play-off] against Sweden was an incredible thing. Four goals!”
The Portugal captain scored his team’s four goals in the two-match playoff for Brazil 2014, including a hat-trick away in Solna.
Capello would not say who he voted for in the Ballon d’Or election, in which Ronaldo is regarded as the favourite along with Messi and France’s Franck Ribery, who last season won the Champions League, the Bundesliga and the German Cup.
The results of the vote will be made public on January 13.
Capello admitted that if he got the chance to make either Cristiano Ronaldo or Messi a Russian so that he could pick him into his team, he would have to “draw lots”.
“They are both good,” said the former England coach, who also managed Real Madrid, Roma, Juventus and Milan.