Cristiano Ronaldo: Was blessed with talent, but I worked hard to make most of it

A handout picture released by CR7 Media, the press office of Portugal's and Real Madrid's forward Cristiano Ronaldo, shows Ronaldo posing with 15 of his individual trophies -- five Ballon D'or, two FIFA "The Best", one FIFA "World Player of the Year", three UEFA "Player of the Year" and four European "Golden Shoe" awards -- in Madeira on January 1, 2018. Pic/AFP

Real Madrid striker Cristiano Ronaldo has looked back on a successful 2017 in an interview with Spanish sports paper, Diario AS. Speaking after a year in which Madrid won a league and Champions League double and he was awarded his fifth Ballon d'Or, Ronaldo said 2017 had been "an incredible year on a lot of levels", reports Xinhua news agency. "It's a tremendous feeling to look back and look at what I have achieved, having started off kicking a ball around the streets of Madeira." he said.

The year 2017 ended with him scoring 57 goals in all competitions. "I was blessed with talent and I have worked really hard to make the most of it," said Cristiano, who nevertheless said that his success was down to the help of "a lot of people who have helped me professionally". The year 2017 also had its downsides for the player, who has so far only scored four goals in the 2017-18 La Liga campaign and has been linked to a move away from Madrid amid the controversy of the ongoing case against him for tax avoidance.

However, Ronaldo preferred not to discuss those issues, preferring to look back on the trophies he and his club have won. "I want to dedicate this moment to my family, who are always there in the good moments and the bad, and to my friends, without forgetting those who believed in me when I was just a kid full of dreams," he commented.

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