Ronaldo always 'confident' of claiming award

The forward was announced as the winner of the award at a ceremony in Zurich on Monday, beating fellow finalists Lionel Messi and Antoine Griezmann.

Real Madrid and Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo after winning the FIFA Men's Player award.

Real Madrid and Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo was always confident he would win the inaugural The Best FIFA Men's Player award.

The forward was announced as the winner of the award at a ceremony in Zurich on Monday, beating fellow finalists Lionel Messi and Antoine Griezmann.

Ronaldo said he never doubted he would secure the prize, having scored 55 goals in 57 matches for club and country across 2016.

"[It's] amazing, amazing," he said.

"To be honest I was confident to win this trophy. It was amazing.

"When you work during the year, hard, and of course when you win the collective awards and after the individual, for me it's amazing."

The triumph added to the Ballon d'Or crown Ronaldo picked up in December, having led Real Madrid to Champions League glory last season and Portugal to the Euro 2016 title.