LONDON — Cristiano Ronaldo has set himself goals in both his professional and personal life by declaring he wants to win seven Ballon d’Or awards to go with seven children.
DailyMail
Ronaldo welcomed the arrival of his fourth child earlier this week, celebrating the birth of his baby daughter Alana Martina with girlfriend Georgina Rodriguez.
The 32-year-old looks set to claim his fifth Ballon d’Or award when the winner of the 2017 honour is announced later this month.
And while Ronaldo says it would be a “dream” to secure his fifth gong, he insists his ambitions do not stop there.
“I want seven children and the same number of Ballon d’Ors,” Ronaldo told L’Equipe via Goal. “That means I do not intend to stop there.
“As long as I play, I will win all I can win. My dream is the fifth Ballon d’Or, and next year there will be another one to go.”
Though Ronaldo is the heavy favourite for this year’s Ballon d’Or based on his performances last season, he has endured a relatively slow start to this campaign.
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The Real Madrid forward has struggled in front of goal with just one strike in seven La Liga matches so far as Madrid find themselves eight points off leaders Barcelona in the Spanish league table.
And Ronaldo says he accepts the criticism for his barren run, but is keeping calm despite his sluggish start to the league season.
“I’m happy and I feel good, you have to stay calm and keep working, because you can obviously do better,” Ronaldo said. “You look at me as a goal machine, like a guy who has to score all the time. If that’s not the case, everybody does not care if I know I have played well or not.
“I am only judged on scoring, which is sometimes not always the most important thing.
“I accept the criticism, but I do not agree. That’s why I avoid reading or hearing what is said about me. But, I have no choice, but to accept it, I cannot control the world.”
Madrid’s defence of their Champions League title has also been mixed, with two wins, one draw and one defeat from their opening four matches leaving them in second place in the group.
Zinedine Zidane’s side drew against Tottenham at the Bernabeu before being dismantled by the north Londoners at Wembley, losing 3-1 with Ronaldo grabbing a late consolation for Madrid.
But Ronaldo says Los Blancos have nothing to fear after winning the Champions League in three of the last four seasons.
“I’m not afraid of PSG, we’re the defending champions two years in a row, we have to respect that,” Ronaldo said.
“We would prefer to finish first in the group, but the important thing is first of all qualification.”
