'I hope that the battle with Messi continues'

Cristiano Ronaldo hoped to continue his battle with rival Lionel Messi after equalling the Argentine genius with five Ballon d'ors.

Cristiano Ronaldo won his fifth Ballon d’or at a ceremony which took place at the Eiffel Tower on Thursday evening. This has been a particularly good year for Cristiano as he also won the FIFA’s Best Award earlier.

His latest achievement means that he has now equaled Argentine playmaker Lionel Messi’s haul of five Ballon d’ors. Real Madrid’s Champions League and La Liga double in 2016/17 season meant that Ronaldo was always the favourite to win the individual awards this season. Messi and Ronaldo have dominated the Ballon d’or podium for a decade now. Since 2008 either one or the other has won the award.

Asked about his rivals for the award, Cristiano hoped to keep competing with Messi and also said he expects Neymar to win the prize one day.

"I hope to play at this level for several years more and I hope that the battle with Messi continues.

"Things happen for a reason. I feel good this season and we'll see at the end of the year what we have won.”

Cristiano also suggested that Neymar, who came in third in the standings this year is a potential Ballon d’or winner.

"Neymar has a lot of talent and a lot of potential.

"I'm sure he'll have the chance to win this award in the future."

List of Ballon d'or winners from 2008-2017

2008 Cristiano Ronaldo

2009 Lionel Messi

2010 Lionel Messi

2011 Lionel Messi

2012 Lionel Messi

2013 Cristiano Ronaldo

2014 Cristiano Ronaldo 

2015 Lionel Messi

2016 Cristiano Ronaldo

2017 Cristiano Ronaldo