- Erling Haaland was crowned the IFFHS’s best player of the 2023 this week
- But Portuguese super star Cristiano Ronaldo was omitted from the rankings
- How do Pep Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp, Mikel Arteta and Jose Mourinho look so good given the pressure they are under? It’s All Kicking Off
Cristiano Ronaldo has laughed at his omission from the International Federation of Football History and Statistics’ (IFFHS) rankings of the ten best footballers of 2023.
The organisation released it’s annual rankings for the ten best footballers in the world earlier this week, with Manchester City’s Erling Haaland being voted the best player of the year.
Yet, there was no room on the list for the 38-year-old, with Bernardo Silva being the only representative from Portugal included in the list.
The news was posted on Instagram by Portuguese news outlet A Bola, with the Al-Nassr forward commenting several laughing faces on Instagram.
Kylian Mbappe placed second in the rankings, while Ronaldo’s long-standing rival Lionel Messi was voted third, having also won his eighth Ballon d’Or earlier this year.
Cristiano Ronaldo was overlooked from a ranking of the best footballers of 2023 by the IFFHS
The Portuguese superstar laughed at his omission from the ranking, posting several ‘laughing face’ emojis on Instagram
Despite his omission, the 38-year-old, here pictured laughing with Conor McGregor last week, has enjoyed a fine season in front of goal
Ronaldo was recently pictured sitting next to Conor McGregor at the ‘Day of Reckoning’ boxing event in Saudi Arabia, that saw Anthony Joshua claim victory against Otto Wallin while Deontay Wilder was beaten by Joseph Parker.
The former Man United and Real Madrid star was seen laughing and chatting to the UFC fighter.
Ronaldo was back in action for the Saudi Pro League side on Boxing Day, scoring a brace of goals to net his 22nd and 23rd goals in all competitions this season during their 5-2 victory against Karim Benzema’s Al-Ittihad.
The brace means that Ronaldo has now scored 53 goals across all competitions in 2023.
Ronaldo has only failed to score in just four of the games he’s played in in the league this season.
This year Ronaldo has scored 53 goals in all competitions for Al-Nassr helping them to keep their title hopes alive
He scored twice on Boxing Day to help Al-Nassr defeat Karim Benzema’s Al-Ittihad 5-2
Manchester City’s Rodri claimed fourth place on the IFFHS’ ranking, while Jude Bellingham, who has dazzled for Real Madrid since his £113million move to the LaLiga giants in the summer, placed fifth.
Kevin De Bruyne was voted in at sixth in the rankings after helping guide Man City to the Treble last season.
Meanwhile, Harry Kane was voted in at seventh after his prolific start to life at Bayern Munich.
Vinicius Junior and Lautaro Martinez both made up the top ten after Silva in eighth, with Ronaldo not featuring on the rankings.
