Five-time Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo has been denied more personal accolades because of a “football mafia,” the Juventus and Portugal star’s mother has claimed.
Ronaldo and great rival Lionel Messi each boast a record tally of five Ballons d’Or – the award handed out each year to the world’s best player.
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The Juventus forward was recently announced as being on the 30-man shortlist for this year’s title, but his mother Dolores Aveiro has claimed he would have an even greater tally of personal awards were it not for forces at work behind the scenes.
"There's a mafia. That's the right word to describe it,” Aveiro said at an event at the player’s hometown club Uniao da Madeira.
“Yes, there is a football mafia. If you look at everything that has happened, you'll realize that it's because of this mafia.
"If he were Spanish or English, they wouldn't do what they've done, but since he's Portuguese and from Madeira... well, this happens," she added.
Ronaldo is largely seen as being behind Messi and Liverpool’s Dutch defender Virgil van Dijk in the running for this year’s Ballon d’Or, which will be announced in Paris in early December.
The 34-year-old has six goals in 11 appearances for Juventus this season. The striker himself has previously said he is targeting as many as eight world player of the year titles as he “deserves” to be ahead of Messi in their duel for personal plaudits.
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