If Kaka had his way, Cristiano Ronaldo would succeed him as the Ballon d’Or and FIFA World Player of the Year awards winner on December 2 and January 12 without going through a vote.
While Brazil and AC Milan play-maker Kaka might have had his say as one of the several world professional players that voted for the FIFApro award, Ronaldo has an anxious wait as journalists, coaches and team captains make up their minds on who is Europe’s and the world’s best player. Kaka’s view that Ronaldo deserves the Ballon d’Or is no guarantee that votes will be swayed.
The Ballon d’Or is voted for by 96 journalists from around the world, selected by France Football magazine, while the FIFA World Player of the Year award is voted for by international coaches.
Ronaldo might have already got the vote from Uganda, with national coach Robert Williamson and acting captain Timothy Batabaire giving him the nod, but he has not helped his image by implying he and no one else is good enough for the awards this year. He has now been dubbed too arrogant to qualify by his critics.
If there were no international competitions this year, Ronaldo would have been a runaway winner but that was not the case. In step two are members of the Spanish European Championship winning team –– goalkeeper Iker Casillas and striker Torres.
Casillas will get the nod from many because he did it at both the club and national team levels.
 “What else do I have to do to win the Ballon d’Or and FIFA award?†said Ronaldo after his 45 goals helped Manchester United win the Premiership and European titles. If Ronaldo misses any of the two, the answer to his question might be vote.
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