Portugal face Croatia in international friendly on Friday
Monday 4 November 2019 12:24, UK
Portugal's coach Fernando Santos believes Cristiano Ronaldo should win FIFA The Best Men's Player of the Year award over Luka Modric.
Modric won the UEFA's Player of the Year last week as he helped Real Madrid to their third straight UEFA Champions League title before guiding his country to their first FIFA World Cup final.
The two sides will face one another in a pre-season friendly on Friday evening at the Estadio Algarve, kick off at 7:45pm.
Speaking about his choice, Santos said: "The voting in the best of FIFA [best player] is not mine. I already casted my vote, if it's up to me, Ronaldo wins and second Modric because that was my vote.
"As to the rest, it's up to the public, the journalists, other managers, many people, so the decision will come out on the exact date and it will be announced.
"As I said, I think Modric is a fantastic player that is why I nominated him as second best player in this new award, but in this vote I think Ronaldo should be the winner for all that he has done during the season and especially in the Champions League."
Both nations are taking part in the new tournament called the UEFA Nations League, which has been designed to replace international friendlies with more competitive matches and will include promotion and relegation.
The tournament will also provide another route to qualify for the European Championship with four places available via play-off games.
