Ronaldo: I think Messi will win Ballon d'Or

Lionel Messi has been backed by Cristiano Ronaldo to add a fifth Ballon d'Or to his collection.
Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo has tipped Barcelona rival Lionel Messi to win a fifth Ballon d'Or in January.

Three-time winner Ronaldo and Messi are in contention for the top gong at an awards ceremony in Zurich in the New Year.

Ronaldo, however, believes the Argentina captain will win the Ballon d'Or after scoring 58 goals in all competitions as Barca claimed the treble last season by clinching La Liga, the Champions League and Copa del Rey.

"To be honest I think Messi is going to win this year because this kind of trophy, it depends on votes," Ronaldo told ITV in an interview set to be aired on Saturday.

"You win competitions, you win Champions League you win the league in terms of individual.

"I did probably the best season of my career which is good and I was the highest scorer in Europe [but] it's all about votes, it's difficult and to be honest I'm not very worried about that because as I said many times, I never thought I'd win three times to be honest."

Ronaldo, 30, added: "We have a normal relationship. We shared this stage at FIFA for eight years. No one has done that in the past - only us - so it's good.

"I have a good relationship with him, he plays for one club, I play for another club. He won the best for him, I won the best for me. We have a good relationship, we are not home friends but we respect each other."