Cristiano Ronaldo refuses to be drawn on 'fictitious' Ballon d'Or after falling three Golden Balls behind GOAT rival Lionel Messi

The Portuguese superstar has lifted the iconic Golden Ball aloft on five occasions over the course of his record-shattering career. The last of those successes came in 2017 while on the books of Real Madrid.

Said triumph drew Ronaldo level with eternal rival Lionel Messi, but the Argentine legend has gone on to savour three more triumphs and now dominates the long-running GOAT debate in the eyes of many.

The class of 2025 are daring to dream of adding their own name to the list of Ballon d’Or winners, with three of Ronaldo’s international colleagues - Vitinha, Joao Neves and Nuno Mendes of Paris Saint-Germain - among the contenders.

Ronaldo is reluctant to discuss their claims to the title of best player on the planet, with the evergreen Al-Nassr striker telling reporters from SportTV "that’s fictitious to me" when asked about the Ballon d’Or.

CR7 beat a hasty retreat after avoiding any further discussion on the subject, with the 40-year-old frontman focused on his own career. He has committed to a new contract in the Middle East that will keep him in the Saudi Pro League for two more years.