23 November,2013 04:07 AM IST | | AFP
Ronaldo scored his fifth hat-trick of the season for club and country against Sweden to ensure Portugal will travel to next year's World Cup and take his tally for the campaign to 31 goals in just 21 appearances.
Cristiano Ronaldo
FIFA's decision to extend the date for votes to be cast for the award from November 15 to November 29 is also expected to weigh heavily in Ronaldo's favour with Barcelona's Lionel Messi sidelined with a hamstring injury.
"I don't think a lot about the Ballon d'Or. I know that it is handed out in January, but I cannot say that I will not go," he told Spanish radio station COPE.u00a0"I prefer to not say anything because things don't depend solely on me. I am not obsessed with the Ballon d'Or. We will see what happens."
