Ronaldo Deserves Ballon D'Or - Kaká

Ahead of tomorrow night's friendly between Brazil and Portugal, last year's Ballon d'Or winner, Brazil's Kaká, thinks that Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo deserves to be the favorite to win the individual prize this year.

"If Cristiano Ronaldo wins the Ballon D'Or it will be fully deserved," he said. "But he'll have to wait until December. He deserves it, for everything he did with Manchester United and the victories he obtained with this team, in which he was a fundamental player.

"My chances? I continue to do my part, but the votes don't depend on me. What matters is that Milan did not anything this year."

The Rossoneri's playmaker went on to talk about his ambitions for this season, and said he hopes to be in the running for the Ballon d'Or again next year.

"My objective is to win the Scudetto and the Uefa Cup: a double to enter Milan's history," Kaká said. "This team is more mature and has more quality than the one of last season. We don't play that well but we are more consistent in our results, which is a good thing.

"It's important to combine quality and quantity. I know that from experience, having played in a team with a lot of talent, the Brazilian team of the 2006 World Cup, but we did not win anything."

Last year Kaká won the award mainly thanks to his performances in the Champions League, which Milan won in the 2006/2007 season, with the Brazilian scoring 10 goals along the way. Last season, Cristiano Ronaldo was top scorer in both the Premier League and the Champions League for United, who are the reigning English and European champions.

Danilo Pochini