One of Juventus' chiefs has questioned whether this year's Ballon d'Or "was taken away" from Cristiano Ronaldo.
This year's Golden Ball was lifted by Ronaldo's longstanding rival Lionel Messi, who won it a record-breaking sixth time.
The Portugal star finished in third place behind Messi and Virgil van Dijk, which seemingly made Bianconeri sporting director Fabio Paratici question the influence Real Madrid and FC Barcelona have on the award.
"It's difficult to say if the Ballon d'Or was taken away from Ronaldo, but there's no doubt that clubs like Real Madrid and Barcelona have a lot of power," he said, as quoted by Marca.
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Paratici also commented on Ronaldo's furious reaction when he was substituted recently, saying it only proves the motivation he still has for the game.
"His injury niggles are annoying because he's competitive and his reaction says a lot about his spirit, his desire to be on the pitch," the Juve chief added.
"He always wants to play and win everything."
Ronaldo himself missed the Ballon d'Or gala in Paris as he was attending the Serie A awards evening, where he picked up two accolades.
