Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo was named the Italian league’s player of the year on Monday – the same night when Argentina talisman Lionel Messi inched the Juventus forward along with Liverpool’s Virgil Van Dijk to clinch the 2019 Ballon d’Or.
Notably, Ronaldo missed the Ballon d’Or ceremony in Paris because he was picking up the Serie A trophy in Milan. The Portugal international bagged the individual prize after winning the league in his first season in Italy with the Juventus.
Ronaldo, a former Real Madrid striker left Santiago Bernabeu in 2018 summer transfer window completing a move to Juventus. He finished his debut season in Turin with 28 goals in all competitions.
In Serie A, Ronaldo netted 21 times in 31 appearances and finished fourth in the top-scoring charts, with veteran striker Fabio Quagliarella of Sampdoria collecting the golden boot award.
Ronaldo has won Ballon d’Or five times (2008, 2013, 2014, 2016, and 2017) in his illustrious career. The forward finished as the runner-up last year when his former Blancos teammate Luka Modric won France’s Golden Ball.
Talking about 2019 Ballon d’Or, Argentina and Barcelona superstar Messi bagged his world-record sixth Ballon d’Or in Paris on Monday night. He surpassed the likes of Liverpool stars Virgil van Dijk, Sadio Mane and his long-time rival Cristiano Ronaldo to bag home the coveted award.
With this honour, the talisman has taken his Ballon d’Or tally to six and has become the most successful player since the inception of the award, surpassing Cristiano Ronaldo, who has five such awards to his name.