Cristiano Ronaldo’s agent Jorge Mendes on Thursday slammed UEFA’s decision to not give the Player of the Year award to the former Real Madrid forward who scored 15 goals in the Champions League and was the top scorer of the tournament. At the UEFA Award Ceremony on Thursday night, Ronaldo was awarded the Best Forward award, but the top prize was claimed by Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric.
Speaking to Portuguese newspaper ‘Record’, Mendes described Ronaldo as a winner on the field. “Football is played across four lines of the pitch and that’s where Cristiano won. He scored 15 goals, carrying Real Madrid on his back to winning another Champions League title,” he said.
He further went on to described the decision by the UEFA as “embarrassing”. “It’s simply ridiculous, embarrassing even. There’s no doubt who the winner should be, the one who is the best in his position,” he said.
The decision was taken after voting by Champions League coaches and invited journalists across Europe. The Croatia captain received 313 points in the vote, surpassing Ronaldo, who was a no-show at the ceremony, by 90 points with Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah finishing at the third position.
Mendes’ thoughts were echoed by Juventus chief executive Giuseppe Marotta, who carried out the transfer of the Portuguese forward from Madrid to the Serie A club in July this year. “I take nothing away from the decision of journalists and coaches, but I would have voted for Cristiano Ronaldo and I say that as a football fan. It would be nice for us to count some players among those who were given awards, but football is a team sport and we will face this Champions League with great determination,” he said.
Madrid swept the overall election for best player in last season’s Champions League after goalkeeper Keylor Navas, defender Sergio Ramos, midfielder Modric and forward Ronaldo won the individual positional prizes.