Cristiano Ronaldo’s sisters have launched a stunning attack on the state of football after the Portuguese star failed to win the Ballon d’Or award, labelling the state of the sport “rotten” and claiming it is run by a “mafia and f*****g money”.
The 33-year-old finished runner-up to his former Real Madrid teammate Luka Modric at Tuesday night’s gala in Paris, which saw a footballer other than Ronaldo or Lionel Messi win the prestigious award for the first time in more than a decade.
It saw Modric complete a clean sweep of individual awards this year, adding the Ballon d’Or to his Fifa Best and World Cup Golden Ball successes.
But while Modric picked up the award in front of many recognisable names within the sport, Ronaldo was nowhere to be seen as he decided against travelling to the French capital for the ceremony, despite finishing in second place.
Furthermore, his family did not take Modric’s triumph well, despite the Croatia midfielder helping his country to the World Cup final along with Real Madrid’s third consecutive Champions League victory last season.
Writing on Instagram, his sister Elma Aveiro said: “Unfortunately this is the world we live in, rotten, with mafia and f******g money. The power of God is a lot greater than all this rottenness. God takes his time but he doesn’t fail.”
His other sister, Katia Aveiro, added alongside a picture of the Juventus forward holding the Ballon d’Or trophy: “Best player in the world….for those who understand football of course.”
The outbursts do little to ease the impression that Ronaldo has not taken his snub well, with his no-show – along with Lionel Messi’s – reflecting badly given that the likes of Neymar, Antoine Griezmann and Manuel Neuer have all attended the ceremony during the pair’s 10-year reign of dominance.
