Cristiano Ronaldo questions Ballon d'Or's credibility, says 'that's fictional to me'

AL-Nassr star Cristiano Ronaldo has declined to select his pick for the Ballon d'Or 2025. He labeled the individual award 'fictional' and left when a reporter questione him on Thursday, August 7.

In an interaction with the media after the hat-trick in Al-Nassr's pre-season clash against Rio Ave, Ronaldo was questioned to name his Ballon d'Or 2025. The Portugal legend declined to pick a winner and claimed that the award did not hold any meaning, saying:

"Ballon d’Or? That's fictional to me!"

Earlier this while speaking to the media regarding the France Football award, Ronaldo named Lamine Yamal, Kylian Mbappe, Vitinha, and Ousmane Dembele as his picks. He again said that the individual awards hold no significance anymore and said:

"For me, the one who should win the Ballon d’Or should be a player who has won the Champions League. I can't single out a player, but there are a lot of candidates. Like Lamine Yamal, Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele, or Vitinha. I don't believe much in individual awards because I know what goes on behind the scenes. Individual awards have no value."

Ballon d'Or and The Best have lost credibility says Cristiano Ronaldo

In 2024, Cristiano Ronaldo spoke to Record and said that individual awards have lost credibility. He was angry with Ballon d'Or and The Best awards ignoring his performance in the Saudi Pro League and said:

"Ballon d’Or and The Best are losing credibility. Numbers are reality. We have to analyze the entire season. It's not to say that Messi didn't deserve the award, or Haaland or even [Kylian] Mbappe. I simply no longer believe in these awards."

"It's not because I won at the Globe Soccer but these are facts, numbers are there and they don't deceive. They can't take this trophy away from me because it is a reality. I'm happier because the numbers are facts. If you go back and see what happened at Man United and Portugal, people actually considered me lost. But the truth is that I focused and had a great period at Al Nassr, that's why I scored 54 goals."

Cristiano Ronaldo has won the Ballon d'Or five times in his career, with the last coming in 2017 while he was playing at Real Madrid. He had gone level with Lionel Messi, but the Argentina superstar has won it three times more since, taking his count to eight.