According to reports, Cristiano Ronaldo will not be attending tonight’s FIFA Best Awards in London, despite being the favourite to win Player of the Year.
The Portuguese forward played and scored during Juventus’ win over Frosinone on Sunday night and is expected to start against Bologna on Wednesday.
It is understood Portuguese Captain has decided to stay in Italy to focus on his club games, rather than attend the awards where he could potentially win his sixth World Player of the Year honour.
Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah and Real Madrid’s Luka Modric, Ronaldo’s challengers for the award, are expected to attend the ceremony at Royal Festival Hall.
Ronaldo has enjoyed another very successful year, helping Real Madrid to Champions League glory for the third year in a row, before joining Serie A champions Juventus in the summer.
But he faces stiff competition from Modric, who was named Player of the Tournament after helping Croatia reach the final, and Salah, who won the Premier League Golden Boot after a remarkable campaign with Liverpool.