Cristiano Ronaldo Boycott Fears Reported Ahead of Ballon d'Or Ceremony

Cristiano Ronaldo may be among the favourites to secure the prestigious Ballon d'Or award in January, but there are real worries among the contest's organisers that he will boycott the ceremony, per the Daily Mail's Ian Ladyman.

Ronaldo has been at odds with FIFA in recent weeks since taking offence at public comments made by the organisation's president, Sepp Blatter, during a speech at the Oxford Union. Per BBC Sport, Blatter issued an apology after the incident.

However, as Ladyman reports, there are real fears the Portugal and Real Madrid star will boycott the ceremony:

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Cristiano Ronaldo has emerged as the favourite to win FIFA's prestigious Ballon d'Or award over rival Lionel Messi following the surprise decision to extend the voting deadline.

But it is understood that Ronaldo, who enhanced his case with his superb hat-trick in Portugal's World Cup play-off win over Sweden on Tuesday night, could boycott the Ballon d'Or ceremony in Zurich on January 13 in protest at comments by FIFA president Sepp Blatter. 

The FIFA chief claimed the Real Madrid star 'spends more time at the hairdresser' when asked to compare him with Messi, though the FIFA chief did later apologise.

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As mentioned, Ronaldo's case for the award has been strengthened by the decision to delay voting due to many ballot papers remaining unreturned.

The extended deadline means that his four goals in the World Cup qualification playoff victory over Sweden will be taken into account, while his biggest rival, Lionel Messi, is once more sidelined through injury.

Goal.com's Kris Voakes reports that Ronaldo has now scored 66 goals in the calendar year, well in excess of his major rivals for the crown—a surge of three hat-tricks in recent weeks also helping his case.

Having not won the crown since 2008, despite his incredible number of goals since joining Real Madrid, there is now a real feeling that 2013 could well be the Portuguese star's year.

There will be many who would agree with a Ronaldo boycott of the event. However, given the prestige of the award, he will likely be under considerable pressure to attend by sponsors, employers and, of course, FIFA.

Blatter's comments were ill-advised for a man in his position, but what was made a school playground affair by Real Madrid's reaction, per the Independent, would only be made worse should Ronaldo fail to attend the event in Zurich.