Cristiano Ronaldo has insisted that he is trying not to fixate on his chances of winning the Ballon d'Or this year - but admitted that he would love to win the award for the third time in four years.
The Real Madrid and Portugal star labelled 2016 his 'best year' as a footballer, winning the Champions League for a third time and leading his national team to a shock triumph at Euro 2016 in France over the summer.
Cristiano Ronaldo's crouched celebrations have gathered some attention. Certainly the internet enjoyed it ... https://t.co/kQ2r2EysHS pic.twitter.com/IjtfjlwGzN
The 31-year-old star told Telefoot:"I've done everything for this season.We won the Champions League, I won the Euros with Portugal. The vote doesn't depend on me and I don't want to be obsessed with it.
"But if you ask me if I want to win the Ballon d'Or, I'd say yes. This year has been amazing for me, with all the trophies. It's my best season, no doubt about that."
Ronaldo's last game before the closing of the voting process game in a massive Madrid derby on the weekend, and saw him smash a hat-trick against Atletico in a 3-0 thrashing.
Marcelo: Anyone who doubts Ronaldo should watch the derby again https://t.co/Y2V3JraH5Q pic.twitter.com/mpSxsdtcFP
In contrast, challenger Antoine Griezmann drew a blank against Real in the same match, while last year's winner Lionel Messi missed a 0-0 draw against Malaga with illness.
The 2016 Ballon d'Or shortlist reads:Sergio Aguero (Manchester City), Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Borussia Dortmund), Gareth Bale (Real Madrid), Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus), Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid), Kevin de Bruyne (Manchester City), Paulo Dybala (Juventus), Diego Godin (Atletico Madrid), Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid), Gonzalo Higuain (Juventus), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Manchester United), Andres Iniesta (Barcelona), Koke (Atletico Madrid), Toni Kroos (Real Madrid), Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich), Hugo Lloris (Tottenham Hotspur), Riyad Mahrez (Leicester City), Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Luka Modric (Real Madrid), Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich), Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich), Neymar (Barcelona), Dimitri Payet (West Ham), Pepe (Real Madrid), Paul Pogba (Manchester United), Rui Patricio (Sporting Lisbon), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), Luis Suarez (Barcelona), Jamie Vardy (Leicester City), Arturo Vidal (Bayern Munich).
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Incredible ðŸ'Œ
Cristiano Ronaldo's 39th career hat-trick gave Real Madrid the city bragging rights.