How Ronaldo HELPED Neymar at the Ballon d'Or awards

How Ronaldo HELPED Neymar at the Ballon d'Or awards
Kate Abdo, presenter at January's Ballon d'Or awards gala, has revealed that the Real Madrid star went out of his way to help his Barcelona rival

Tension between Real Madrid and Barcelona players has a tendency to boil over - but away from the pitch, Cristiano Ronaldo gives his rivals a helping hand.

The Portugal international missed out to Lionel Messi in January’s Ballon d’Or awards, while Neymar made the top three for the first time in his career.

And it’s been revealed that Ronaldo helped the Brazilian through the award ceremony, despite the rivalry between the pair on the field.

“At the Ballon d’Or which I did in January, we do a little rehearsal with the players before they are going to go on stage for real,” Ballon d’Or gala presenter Kate Abdo explained in an interview with Football Beyond Borders.

“He [Ronaldo] came out with Neymar, who is Brazilian and Ronaldo is Portuguese, so they both speak Portuguese, and although Messi and Neymar are team-mates, it was Ronaldo who took him around, showed him where he had to go, made sure everything was translated for him.

“He was just very kind and very caring towards Neymar, the way he looked out for him and made sure he knew what he was doing. And that’s a side [of Ronaldo] maybe you don’t expect.”