Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo has insisted that he is “not obsessed” by individual trophies, having missed on this year’s Ballon d’Or after winning it five times.
The Juventus striker also missed out on Fifa and Uefa’s player of the year trophies as former Real Madrid teammate Luka Modric, a World Cup runner-up with Croatia, swept all before him.
“I’m not obsessed by individual prizes,” Ronaldo told Portuguese sports daily Record. “The most important thing is to win collective trophies and help the team. The rest comes naturally.”
Ronaldo added: “I don’t think all the time of beating records. I work above all to help the club and be at my best level.
“The technical, tactical and physical level of all teams is better today,” he said. “It’s increasingly tough to win so I have to keep working hard to stay on top.”
Having missed the start of Portugal’s Nations League campaign to better adjust to life with Juve, Ronaldo said that in 2019 he “envisages being at the disposal of the national coach”.
Portugal will host the inaugural Nations League finals in June, meeting Switzerland in the semi-finals. In the wide-ranging interview, Ronaldo also dubbed as “revolting” allegations of rape made against him dating back to 2009, something he strenuously denies. He added that he had a “calm conscience” and was “confident that everything will very soon be clarified”.
