Cristiano Ronaldo: 'I am not obsessed with Ballon d'Or'

By Barney Corkhill, Editor | 07 November 2016

Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo insists that trophies with the team are more important to him than picking up individual awards such as the Ballon d'Or.

Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo has insisted that he is not obsessed with winning the Ballon d'Or award.

The 31-year-old has won the trophy three times in his illustrious career, and is once again in the running this year having helped Real Madrid to the Champions League title and Portugal to their first ever major trophy at Euro 2016.

Ronaldo recently signed a new long-term deal with Madrid that will keep him at the club until 2021, and he stressed that winning trophies with the team is more important to him than gathering personal accolades.

Asked if he can reach 500 goals for Madrid, having already scored 371, Ronaldo told reporters: "These things happen naturally, I never thought about beating Raul's record. 500 goals is possible, but I'm not obsessed with it. It is important to win titles with the team.

"[The Ballon d'Or] is important to win, but it is important to win the Champions League and European Championships. Team awards are more important than winning individual awards."

Ronaldo also confirmed that he is not considering an early retirement from international duty, having vowed to continue playing beyond the end of his new deal.