Piers Morgan wins "Scoop of the Year" prize for interviewing Cristiano Ronaldo

Piers Morgan took to the stage on to accept the Sports Journalist Association's Award for Scoop of The Year on Monday.

The 57-year-old dedicated his win to Meghan Markle, insisting cheekily that without her, TalkTV might never have existed.

A mixture of boos and cheers met Piers as he walked up to the podium at an event celebrating excellence in sports journalism.

"Well, thank you very much! I feel like Hannibal Lecter at a vegan convention, but okay!" he shrugged.

"I'd like to thank Meghan Markle, without whom there wouldn't be a TalkTV or Piers Morgan Uncensored - thank you Meghan," he joked amid hearty laughs from the audience.

Meanwhile, in reference to the boos, he chuckled: "I want to make those who aren't half as happy as I am about this feel better.

"The last three times I've won awards this century, I lost the job I won them for within three months!"

Cristiano's own road has been equally rocky, as the famous interview he did with Piers, in which he claimed that Manchester United had "disrespected" him, had led to him parting ways with the team.

In what some have described as the most explosive sporting revelation this year to date, Ronaldo also told Piers that he felt "betrayed" and the "black sheep".

That is in spite of winning 32 trophies, leading to Piers describing him onstage last night as "indisputably the greatest football player of all time".

During his acceptance speech, Piers detailed how the pair had first met, suggesting that they had a murderer to thank.

He recalled that Cristiano had contacted him on Instagram after being impressed by a crime documentary he'd created.

"I've actually got a serial killer in upstate New York to thank for what happened last year," Piers joked.

The pair then met for an interview, which he said "didn't cost a penny", before praising "old-fashioned contacts".