Casemiro, Real Madrid's midfielder, moved away from the club line on the Ballon d'Or and says he would give it to Juventus striker Cristiano Ronaldo, not Los Blancos' Luka Modric.
"Luka's year has been phenomenal, but I would give the Ballon d'Or to Cristiano for his merits over the last year," said the Brazilian.
Casemiro was speaking after Madrid's 3-0 win over Roma, which he said was a "perfect game".
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"When a team creates 30 chances on goal it's all their merit, above all against opponents who came to defend and know how to do that well like Roma, for me we had a perfect game," said Casemiro.