Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane has insisted that Cristiano Ronaldo deserves to win the 2016 Ballon d'Or.
Ronaldo is the hot favourite to reclaim the crown from Lionel Messi after helping Real Madrid to the Champions League title in May, before leading Portugal to Euro 2016 success in France.
Zidane has branded the 31-year-old's 2016 "magnificent" and backed the forward to land the award once again.
"If you look back over the course of the year, and you look at what Cristiano has achieved, it's impressive," Zidane told reporters. "What he's achieved in 2016, not just on an individual basis, but for his team and his country has been magnificent.
"There's been hard work from him but he knows there's always hard work from his teammates [as well]. I was asked about this the other day and I said he deserves to win the Ballon d'Or, clearly."
Four-time winner Messi won the Ballon d'Or for 2015, finishing above Ronaldo and Barcelona teammate Neymar.
Matt Law
