Ballon d'Or snub will make Cristiano Ronaldo even better, says Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri

The Juventus forward finished second to former Real Madrid teammate Luka Modric earlier this week but Allegri believes Ronaldo did enough to win the award for what would have been a record sixth time

Cristiano Ronaldo will use his Ballon d'Or snub to get even better at Juventus, says Massimiliano Allegri (Getty)

Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri has sent an ominous warning to their rivals by claiming the decision not to award Cristiano Ronaldo a sixth Ballon d’Or award will spur him on to hit new highs this season.

With Luka Modric crowned as the best footballer in 2018 at Monday night’s gala, it proved the first time since 2007 that neither Ronaldo or Lionel Messi have not won the award.

Ronaldo claimed four Ballon d’Or wins while at Real Madrid - as well as his first with Manchester United - though his move to Juventus has not caused the goals to dry up having netted 11 times already this season.

However, Allegri believes that the snub this week will only go to spur him on to even greater levels this season, which should come as a warning to the rest of Serie A and their Champions League opposition.

“I think he deserved to win the Ballon d'Or for what he did with Real Madrid, winning the Champions League,” Allegri told reporters on Tuesday.

“At the World Cup with Portugal honestly he couldn't go any further [than the round of 16]. Therefore, I mean, he deserved it.

“But I think that this can be a motivation to do even better this season and win the next Ballon d'Or with Juventus.”

Allegri was not the only person who believed that Ronaldo should have been rewarded with a sixth Ballon d’Or to add to his collection - one that would have taken him ahead of Lionel Messi - as his sisters criticised the decision and claimed that it displayed the problems within football that led to the snub.

Writing on Instagram, his sister Elma Aveiro said: “Unfortunately this is the world we live in, rotten, with mafia and f******g money. The power of God is a lot greater than all this rottenness. God takes his time but he doesn’t fail.”

His other sister, Katia Aveiro, added alongside a picture of the Juventus forward holding the Ballon d’Or trophy: “Best player in the world….for those who understand football of course.”

Cristiano Ronaldo finished second in the Ballon d'Or but elected not to attend the ceremony (Getty)

A Juventus player has not won the Ballon d’Or since Pavel Nedved claimed the award in 2003 - with Gianluigi Buffon finishing second three years later - and while Buffon left the club in the summer to join Paris Saint-Germain, he believes the arrival of Ronaldo reinvigorated the rest of the club and prevented more following him through the exit.

“For me, it was time to say ‘enough’,” Buffon said at the Ballon d’Or ceremony this week.

“Juve probably felt others could’ve left and that the only way to reawaken everyone was buying Cristiano.”