Former Real Madrid defender Roberto Carlos has backed Cristiano Ronaldo to win the 2012 FIFA Ballon d'Or award.
The Brazilian claims that the Portuguese can influence a game in a number of ways and that the award has been due to the Madrid forward for a long time.
"Obviously, everyone's talking about Messi, but I reckon he's already won so many prizes, there can't be any room left in his trophy cabinet at home," he told FIFA.com.
"So I'd pick Cristiano Ronaldo. He's the type of player who can settle a match in any number of different ways from a variety of attacking situations. He's deserved another award for a long time now."
Barcelona duo Lionel Messi and Andres Iniesta are the other two shortlisted candidates for the Ballon d'Or this year.
