Ancelotti: Ronaldo deserves the Ballon d’Or

Doha: Cristiano Ronaldo, the bookmakers’ favourite for Fifa’s Player of the Year award for 2013, the Ballon d’Or, earned wholesome praise from his Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti on Thursday.

“He [Ronaldo] is not a selfish player. I must say he has made my life easier this season,” the veteran coach said, replying to a Gulf News query at the Torch Doha hotel. Both Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain have been camping at this 51-storied monolith, which towers over the Doha skyline, ahead of their friendly game on Thursday.

The buzz around the hotel was palpable on Thursday morning after Real Madrid checked into the hotel late on Wednesday evening. Around 200 fans milled around to get a possible look at the likes of Ronaldo and Karim Benzema. Two of the team’s galacticos, Gareth Bale and captain Iker Casillas, however, could not make the whistle-stop trip.

Asked who would be his choice for the Ballon d’Or award, Ancelotti was quite categorical: “For Real, Ronaldo has already won the award even if he finally does not win it. He has played some fantastic football this season and carried the team on his shoulders.”

The Fifa award has Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Franck Ribery as the nominees, with the winner to be announced on January 13. Asked if the intense media hype and speculation about the award is actually a welcome addition to the modern game, the former AC Milan and Chelsea coach said: “It’s important to win awards, but at the end of the day, it doesn’t change your life. This is why I am saying Ronaldo should be the best player for the year just gone by.”

The Portuguese star, a recipient of the Ballon d’ Or in 2008, seemed to bring an extra edge to his performance last year to lay the ‘Messi or Ronaldo’ debate to rest — for this the year gone by, at least. He scored a phenomenal tally of 69 goals across all competitions in 2013, eclipsing Messi’s record of 45 by a long chalk.

“Scoring goals is my passion,” is how the superstar summed up his hunger for goals during his speech at the Dubai International Sports Conference last weekend. And Ancelotti is surely not complaining.