Massimiliano Allegri, the coach of Juventus, has said Cristiano Ronaldo was “angry” not to have been named UEFA’s Player of the Year on Thursday, August 30, and that his decision not to travel to Monaco must be respected.

Luka Modric won the award and Ronaldo was not present at the ceremony. Instead, he informed the Serie A club earlier in the day that he did not feel like travelling. It is not clear whether he knew in advance that he would come second.

“It was his personal decision and like all personal decisions, it is to be respected,” Allegri said at a news conference on Friday, August 31.

“All I will say is that Ronaldo had a great season last year and tomorrow he is going to play [against Parma] with [Mario] Mandzukic, while I will decide on the third or fourth [forward] after training.

“He was angry yesterday because he won the Champions League scoring 15 goals. This shows that he always wants to be the best.”

Ronaldo picked up 223 votes, cast by a select group of journalists and coaches, while Modric won the award with 313. Mohamed Salah came third with 134 votes. Jorge Mendes, Ronaldo’s agent, has said it is “ridiculous” that his client did not win the award.

The Portuguese captain will be looking to open his Serie A account at the third attempt on Saturday evening, when the Bianconeri travel to newly promoted Parma.

– Aug. 31, 2018 @ 15:49 GMT |