Johan Cruyff says it's "absurd" that Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo won the Fifa Ballon d'Or following his disappointing performances for Portugal at the World Cup.
Cruyff - who landed the prize in 1971, 1973 and 1974 feels the trophy should have gone to someone who did not only excel individually, but also enjoyed a successful World Cup, adding that Toni Kroos would have been a worthy winner.
"At the highest level, it's all about the combination of individual quality and achievements," the Netherlands legend wrote in his column for De Telegraaf.
"From that point of view, it's absurd that for the second year in a row a player has been given the award who did not both play excellent and win the most trophies.
"Back in 2013, Bayern Munich won every single trophy out there, yet Cristiano Ronaldo still won the award instead of a player like Toni Kroos or someone else from Bayern.
"In 2014, Kroos was a key player again for the team that won the World Cup, yet he was not even among the final three nominees. Ronaldo was completely anonymous at the World Cup...
"Let this be clear, I cannot take this Fifa award seriously anymore."
Ronaldo, 29, finished ahead of Lionel Messi and Manuel Neuer in the vote to win the third Ballon d'Or of his career.
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