Super agent Jorge Mendes has launched a fierce defence of Cristiano Ronaldo after the Portuguese star was overlooked for this year's Ballon d'Or, insisting his client is the greatest footballer of all time.
Speaking to Italian TV channel Sportitalia, Mendes said: "Enough. Cristiano is the best in history. In England, in Spain and in Italy, everywhere, he is the best in history."
Ronaldo, a five-time winner, finished second in the voting behind former Real Madrid teammate Luka Modric, who amassed 753 points after leading Croatia to the World Cup final and winning a third consecutive Champions League crown.
The 33-year-old Juventus forward garnered 476 votes, ahead of France's Antoine Griezmann (414) and Kylian Mbappe (347). Lionel Messi, also a five-time winner, finished fifth, a result his Barcelona manager Ernesto Valverde called "absurd".
This year's award marks the first time since 2007 that neither Messi nor Ronaldo has claimed the prize, breaking a decade-long duopoly. Modric is now the only active player besides the two superstars to have won the Ballon d'Or.
