Cristiano Ronaldo has broken his silence on social media when Lionel Messi beat him the Best FIFA Men’s player award last night.
The Portuguese superstar was absent from the ceremony – despite being about an hour away from Milan, where it took place.
It meant for a slightly awkward photoshoot at one stage when the FIFAPRO Men’s Team of the Year was read out.
The announcer revealed each player one by one as they lined up in position but only 10 names were heard.
Only 10 players lined-up for the FIFAPRO Men’s Team of the Year – without Cristiano Ronaldo
The likes of Alisson, Eden Hazard and Virgil van Dijk stood up on stage – with Ronaldo also being awarded a spot in the XI.
Ronaldo’s Juventus team-mate Matthijs de Ligt was present at the ceremony and was also named in the line-up as the only other Juventus player.
However, the former Real Madrid forward may have not turned up and it certainly does not look like he was busy.
His latest Instagram post was put up at a striking time as the night in Milan was coming to an end.
“Patience and persistence are two characteristics that differentiate the professional from the amateur,” he wrote.
“Everything that is big today has started small.
“You can’t do everything, but do everything you can to make your dreams come true. And keep in mind that after night always comes dawn.”Ronaldo snubbed his long-term rival Messi in the voting as well, instead picking De Ligt as his first-choice – followed by Frenkie de Jong and Kylian Mbappe.
Messi, though, had Sadio Mane as his top pick – with Ronaldo coming second and De Long in at third.
The other contender for the prize, Van Dijk, made Messi his No.1 with Liverpool team-mates Mohamed Salah and Mane coming second and third respectively.