This archive report was first published on 25 September 2019.
On Monday, September 23, 2019, in Milan, the FIFA Best awards ceremony took place, with Lionel Messi being crowned the winner for the first time, adding to his previous five Balon d'Or awards.
However, Juventus sporting director Fabio Paratici expressed his disappointment and disagreement with the outcome, stating that Cristiano Ronaldo deserved to win the award.
According to Corriere dello Sport, Paratici cited Ronaldo's impressive honours in 2019, including the Nations League, Serie A, and the Italian Super Cup, as reasons why he believed Ronaldo should have won the award.
Paratici was quoted as saying, "We are also disappointed over the award last night, while still respecting Messi, who is a great player, we think and thought that after last season, having won the Nations League, Serie A, and the Italian Super Cup, having played a great Champions League, he [Ronaldo] deserved this award."
Reacting to the outcome, Cristiano Ronaldo took to his Instagram to make a statement, writing, "Patience and persistence are two characteristics that differentiate the professional from the amateur, 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."
