On the night Lionel Messi won his sixth Ballon d’Or, his rivals Cristiano Ronaldo was crowned Serie A Player of The Player 2019.
Ronaldo was at the Gran Gala del Calcio in Milan to collect his prize, instead of attending the Ballon d’Or ceremony in Paris where he was third place behind Virgil Van Dijk.
“It’s an honour to hold this award. I thank my Juventus teammates.
“I’m very happy to play in Italy, it’s a very difficult league. Thanks to everyone for having voted for me. I want to do as well this year, too.”
All the awards are voted for by footballers, coaches, referees and journalists.
Ronaldo moved to Juventus from Real Madrid in July 2018 and helped the Bianconeri to their eighth consecutive Serie A title.
The Portugal international scored 26 goals in his debut season in Italy and helped Juventus towards another domestic title.
In the league, he scored 21 times in 31 appearances but finished fourth in the top-scoring charts, with veteran striker Fabio Quagliarella of Sampdoria collecting the golden boot award.
Serie A is the third league triumph in Ronaldo’s career, having also won La Liga with Real Madrid and the Premier League with Manchester United.
This season, Ronaldo has scored six goals in 11 Serie A appearances and will be expected to claim another league title and ambitiously, winning the Champions League at long last.
Besides in the league, Ronaldo has been in fine form for Portugal, winning his second international trophy with his national team in the Nations League after Euro 2016 title and recently scored the 99th goal for his country.
Ronaldo had been tied with Messi on five Ballon d’Or after claiming his fifth award in 2017, but the Barcelona superstar has created yet another history by being the first footballer ever to win the sixth Ballon d’Or.