Cristiano Ronaldo refuses to be drawn on 'fictitious' Ballon d'Or after falling three Golden Balls behind Lionel Messi

Cristiano Ronaldo has refused to be drawn into another Ballon d'Or debate, branding the prestigious accolade "fictitious".

• CR7 has five Golden Balls to his name
• Eternal rival Messi has moved on to eight
• Class of 2025 dreaming to notable win

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  WHAT HAPPENED?

  The Portuguese superstar has lifted the iconic Golden Ball aloft on five occasions over the course of his record-shattering career. The last of those successes came in 2017 while on the books of Real Madrid.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Said triumph drew Ronaldo level with eternal rival Lionel Messi, but the Argentine legend has gone on to savour three more triumphs and now dominates the long-running GOAT debate in the eyes of many.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  The class of 2025 are daring to dream of adding their own name to the list of Ballon d’Or winners, with three of Ronaldo’s international colleagues – Vitinha, Joao Neves and Nuno Mendes of Paris Saint-Germain – among the contenders.

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  WHAT RONALDO SAID

  Ronaldo is reluctant to discuss their claims to the title of best player on the planet, with the evergreen Al-Nassr striker telling reporters from "that’s fictitious to me" when asked about the Ballon d’Or.