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Ronaldo wins Ballon d’Or 2014

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Cristiano Ronaldo purging his emotions on stage while receiving the award from former French and Barcelona striker Thierry Henry, admitted sweat and sacrifice to be the core reasons behind the award  at the ceremony in Zurich which was attended by a galaxy of football stars, FIFA officials and journalists. Vestiges of sadness loomed over Messi and Manuel Neuer, the other contenders for the award as Ronaldo, who claims that his son is a Messi fan spoke.

The award was initiated in 2010 after merging France’s Ballon d’Or and FIFA World player of the year and is given to the best football player in the world every year. The voting is done by professional players, coaches and sports journalists.

Winning the award for a consecutive time, Ronaldo played a key role in Real Madrid’s win in the UEFA Champions League 2014 for a record tenth time. At 29, that his career couldn’t get any better was shown by his feat of being the season top scorer in the league and La Liga this season.He scored 52 goals in 43 games in 2014.

In reply to a question posed by a FIFA interviewer related to his agent’s assertion that he possessed the capability to play till he was 40, Ronaldo replied that if motivation allowed him, he would endeavour to do the same. The possibility of this is quite high considering his motivation levels on field despite injuries during the Champions League finale the previous season.

Critics claim this to be the star’s best year in his career so far with wins in the Champions League, Copa del Rey, European Super Cup, Club World Cup and Ballon d’Or. Nike, Ronaldo’s sponsor released ‘Mercurial CR7 Rare Gold’ boots as a tribute to his remarkable year as a professional.

Sidharth Yadav for DU Beat.

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