Cristiano Ronaldo's two-year stint at the top of the Ballon d'Or podium ended on Monday, as the five-time winner finished second in the 2018 vote much to the dismay of his friends and family.
His former Real Madrid teammate Luka Modric took the prize and some of those close to Ronaldo didn't bite their tongue when discussing the fact that the Portuguese superstar finished in second place.
"Unfortunately, this is a world that lives on corruption, the mafia and f**king money," his sister Elma Aveiro wrote on social media.
"God's power is greater than all of this rotting.
"God may take his time, but he doesn't fail."
His close friend Miguel Paixao also expressed his dismay.
"It's absolutely incredible what they've done this year," Paixao wrote.
"This is a great lack of respect towards the person who has really done the most to once again be considered the best.
"Many will say I am only saying this because he is a friend, but no.
"It's more than that, I am a fair person and don't forget facts.
"There are facts that speak for themselves.
"The truth is that nobody scored more in the 2017/18 season than Ronaldo, with 54 official goals.
"He was the top scorer in the Champions League for the sixth year in a row with 15 goals.
"He won the Champions League, the Club World Cup, the UEFA Super Cup and the Supercopa de Espana, while scoring decisive goals.
"He was the man of the most notable and memorable moment of the World Cup, the hat-trick against Spain.
"He became the first player in the world to score in the final stages of nine consecutive major international tournaments.
"He became the first player in the world to move past the 400 goals mark in the top five European leagues.
"He scored the best goal of the year and probably the best goal in the history of the Champions League in Turin, when still with Real Madrid.
"Out of all the Ballon d'Or candidates, nobody is having such a good start to the season, with goals, assists and great performances.
"There are no arguments against these facts.
"One other thing is true, that they'll have to put up with the best ever for a long time yet.
"The story continues."
He also posted a series of hashtags, expressing his pride at Ronaldo's achievements.
cesblrz
196
you remain the Best in the world with or without ballon d'or Ronaldo and messi.let the so called FIFA fabricate winners of ballon d'or. what i know ils that ,the original has no replacement and photocopiers do not last for Long
tropicalda
187
Dear Ronaldo & Messi, you guys are the best players ever! The best to ever exist; you don’t need an award to tell you how great you are. It gives me so much joy to be alive to watch you two play ❤️ BallonDor
cipadelors
141
Suddenly there is a different winner and people are complaining. If Ronaldo wins, ah Messi should have won. If Messi wins, ah Ronaldo should have won. They are extra ordinary players and they have won several times and they might again tart that trend from next year. But Modric had a sensational year. Croatia to play world cup final wasn't a thing that everyone expects . But they did and it wasn't a fluke. You can always have an argument about who should have won this year, but the argument should be between Modric and Griezzman. I am not saying Ronaldo and Messi played bad, its just, Modric and Griezzman were little better.
hoacikmy
136
CR7 is the best player in the world. Nearly everyone admits this except CR7 haters. To deny him this Ballon d’ Or is manifest injustice. The greater insult is to rank Messi at #5. Any professional football team if given the chance would take CR7 as #1 and Messi #2 and this would not be necessarily unanimous. After the accomplishment of Messi and his leadership at Barca he deserves more respect than he is shown. FIFA,FFF,and UEFA are not only corrupt but have conspired in their corruption. What next Perez named executive of the year?
Hoaacent
124
i want a sister like Ronaldo has for him. my own sister never spoke for me, she always complained to my parents and never took a step to correct the mistake by herself. Glad that Ronaldo has such a great family. i know the accusations might be a bit salty but this shows how much she loves her brother.
Hinacdiklp
50
The 'facts' by Ronaldo's friends are not completely correct. This year's Spanish Super Cup was win by Barcelona and Atletico took the UEFA equivalent. The FIFA Club World Cup is still to be competed for. True, Ronaldo won thesr with Real Madrid in 2017 and was rightly rewarded with that year's Balon D'or. You cannot refresh those prior-year achievements so as to justify his case for 2018.
zunacmosu
29
we are focusibg too much on strikers for the award. we should consider other departments on the field of play. Assessing Goalkeeping, defending and operation of the midfields should would go a long way in being objective and given equal attention and emulments