Lisbon - Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo said in an interview published on Wednesday that he would love to win this year's Ballon d'Or but it would not be the end of the world if the prize went elsewhere.
“If I win, perfect. If I don't, never mind, life goes on. But obviously I'd love to win. I'm not going to lie or be hypocritical,” the 27-year-old Real Madrid forward was quoted as saying on the Portuguese football federation website.
“Fair or unfair, the decision will be what it will be... I'll maybe be very happy or maybe very sad. But that's life. I can't live according to an individual prize,” the 2008 Ballon d'Or winner added.
Barcelona's Lionel Messi, who earlier this month surpassed the 40-year-old record of 85 goals in a calendar year set by Germany's Gerd Mueller in 1972, is favourite to take the prize for an unprecedented fourth successive year.
“It won't be the end of the world if I don't win,” Ronaldo said, adding that careers were defined more by team prizes than individual ones.
Ronaldo, Messi and the Argentine's Spain team-mate Andres Iniesta are the three players shortlisted for the award, which will be presented in Zurich early next month.
Sapa-AFP