Football legends, including Pale and Rio Ferdinand, praised Cristiano Ronaldo for winning Ballon D’ or for the fifth time.
Ronaldo won the award for the World's Best Footballer for the fifth time in Paris, beating Barcelona's Lionel Messi and PSG's Neymar, who were second and third placed respectively.
"I hope to play at a high level for a few more years," Ronaldo said when asked about rival Messi. "Let's have the fight continue in a good way. He will do his best for his club and his national team," he added.
"And I will do my best for Real Madrid and my national team. So let's see at the end of the day who is better and see who at the end of the year what collective awards we win and what the people voted," he said.
After the result was announced, Pele took to twitter to offer his congratulations and compliment the Real Madrid superstar.
Congratulations to @Cristiano on winning this year's Ballon d'Or. I would love to have played on the same side as you! // Parabéns ao @Cristiano por conquistar o Ballon d'Or este ano. Eu adoraria ter tido a chance de jogar ao seu lado! #BallondOr
— Pelé (@Pele) December 7, 2017
What a man.... congratulations bro @Cristiano #TheBest #BallondOr 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 https://t.co/2GhhK81Tm1 pic.twitter.com/i9u3ujuKkZ
— Rio Ferdinand (@rioferdy5) December 7, 2017
The man @Cristiano wins his 5th #ballondor on the night of the FIVE launch night... #Ronaldo🔥🔥🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 https://t.co/2GhhK81Tm1 pic.twitter.com/bXRBh0MDud
— Rio Ferdinand (@rioferdy5) December 7, 2017
Congratulations @Cristiano for your fifth #BallondOr 🏆👏 #Ronaldo pic.twitter.com/VSWxU4FlFr
— Lothar Matthäus (@LMatthaeus10) December 7, 2017
.@Cristiano Ronaldo celebrated his fifth Ballon d'Or with #RealMadrid president Florentino Pérez.#CRI5TIANO | #HalaMadridhttps://t.co/HZoyzzvLeV pic.twitter.com/7vBZ3botHc
— Real Madrid C.F.🇬🇧 (@realmadriden) December 7, 2017
💬🏆 See what @Cristiano had to say after winning his FIFTH Ballon d'Or!#CRI5TIANO | #HalaMadridhttps://t.co/BNFTAWAlOg
— Real Madrid C.F.🇬🇧 (@realmadriden) December 7, 2017