Juventus director Fabio Paratici insists they “respect Lionel Messi, but Cristiano Ronaldo deserved to win the award as The Best.”
The trophy was handed out by FIFA last night in a ceremony at Milan’s legendary Scala opera house, but Ronaldo did not attend.
This is believed to be because he knew that he hadn’t won the main award, which went to Barcelona star Messi ahead of Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk.
Juventus director Fabio Paratici insists they “respect Lionel Messi, but Cristiano Ronaldo deserved to win the award as The Best.”
The trophy was handed out by FIFA last night in a ceremony at Milan’s legendary Scala opera house, but Ronaldo did not attend.
This is believed to be because he knew that he hadn’t won the main award, which went to Barcelona star Messi ahead of Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk.
“We respect Messi, but Cristiano Ronaldo deserved to win the award as The Best,” Paratici told DAZN ahead of this evening’s Serie A game with Brescia.
“We thought that after last season, when he won the Nations League with Portugal, Serie A and the Italian Super Cup with Juve, he deserved to win it.
“It’s a pity he is not available this evening, but he had a slight adductor issue and we’ll see how he feels for the weekend.”