Cristiano Ronaldo has released a furious statement hitting out at claims from Ballon d'Or chief Pascal Ferre that his career ambition was to finish his playing days with more awards than his rival Lionel Messi - accusing him of lying.
Ronaldo was absent from Monday night's awards ceremony - run by publication France Football - and the Manchester United star sent out a lengthy retort to comments made by Ferre to the New York Times that he always had Messi in his sights amid their bitter rivalry to win the year gong.