Fifa Ballon d'Or: Cristiano Ronaldo says row with Sepp Blatter is 'no longer an issue' following telephone conversation
The Fifa president mocked the Real Madrid forward for 'spending time at the hairdresser'
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Your support makes all the difference.Cristiano Ronaldo says he has settled his differences with Sepp Blatter over the telephone after the FIFA president's mockery of the Real Madrid player last year.
Blatter told the Oxford Union in October that he preferred Barcelona's Lionel Messi to Ronaldo, and when asked to compared the two suggested the Portuguese player "spends more time at the hairdresser".
The FIFA president apologised afterwards and Ronaldo, nominated along with Messi and Bayern Munich's Franck Ribery for the FIFA Ballon d'Or award for the world's best player, told a news conference ahead of the ceremony in Zurich that their row had been cleared up.
Ronaldo said: "This topic is no longer an issue, we talked over the telephone, everything was cleared so this no longer an issue neither for us nor for football.
"I am here for the FIFA Ballon d'Or, it's a privilege to be nominated and I am very proud to be here whether I win or not. You only get here after a lot of work and effort."
Sir Alex Ferguson was one of the three nominees for the coach of the year but the former Manchester United manager did not attend the ceremony as he is on a family holiday in Barbados.
Jupp Heynckes, who won the Champions League plus German league and cup with Bayern Munich last season, was also nominated alongside Borussia Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp.
PA
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