Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo has confirmed he will attend the Ballon d'Or gala next week.
The 28-year-old is vying with current holder Lionel Messi and Bayern Munich star Franck Ribery for the 2013 prize, although there was speculation he could boycott the event after comments made by Sepp Blatter where he suggested he favoured Messi as a player.
Ronaldo, however, has made it clear he will head to Zurich for the proceedings on January 13.
"I'll go to the gala. I don't know if it's right for me to win. If I win, great, if not I'll continue working to help Real Madrid, as always," he told reporters after Monday's 3-0 win over Celta.
Ronaldo scored twice in the victory to reach the 400-goal mark for his career and he dedicated his double to Portugal icon Eusebio, who died at the weekend.
"The priority was to win. It was a very difficult game with Celta parking the bus. The season is very long and what we want is get close to the leaders and get past them," he continued.
"I thank all the press for the tributes they have produced for him [Eusebio]. We are both Portuguese and Portugal has felt the sympathy of Spain and the entire world. Both my goals were for him. He was a lovely person, he helped me a lot and he was always with the Portugal national team. Yesterday was a very sad day."
Xabi Alonso only played half of the match after failing to recover fully from an ear problem and Ronaldo admits he is eager for the Spaniard to commit his future to the club soon as his "messy" contract negotiations continue.
"That's a messy situation which the president has to deal with, I don't want to know about it. But there's always a solution to every situation," he added.
"Death is the only thing for which there is no solution. He's 32, there's nothing I can tell him. But I hope he stays with us."
Madrid appeared to be heading for a goalless draw after struggling to break down Celta until substitutes Gareth Bale and Jese Rodriguez grabbed an assist apiece to help secure the win.
Ronaldo was impressed with the performances of both players and admitted supporters would have been expecting better at Santiago Bernabeu.
"Both of them changed the team. Jese is very important to the team, as is Bale. The fans came hoping for a better game, but this happens sometimes," he added.
source: goal.com
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