Paul Pogba on Messi and Ronaldo: 'I want to be better than them one day'

Posted Tuesday, January 12, 2016 by ESPN

Juventus and France midfielder Paul Pogba has revealed his desire to surpass Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo and one day win the Ballon d'Or for himself.

Former Manchester United man Pogba has developed into one of the world's top players since joining Juventus in the summer of 2012 for free, helping the Bianconeri to three consecutive Serie A titles and a place in the Champions League final in 2015.

Messi and Ronaldo have dominated the title of world's best player, winning the award in each of the past eight years. However the 22-year-old Pogba, while speaking at the Ballon d'Or ceremony, revealed it's his dream to add his name to the list of the winners someday.

"I feel fortunate to be here in Zurich for this award show. I hope to be able to win the Ballon d'Or myself one day, but I still have a long way to go," Pogba told reporters at the event.

With Pogba in attendance, Messi beat out Ronaldo and Barcelona teammate Neymar to collect his record fifth trophy on Monday, leading the France international to reflect on how far he's come as a footballer, and still how much further he must go.

Paul Pogba attended the Ballon d'Or ceremony on Monday.

"Maybe one day I can be among the three finalists. My biggest goal is to win the Ballon d'Or, but there are a lot of other candidates," Pogba continued.

"I used to be watching Messi and Ronaldo on TV and played with them on the Playstation. Now I am close to them.

"But my objective is not just to be close to them. I want to be better than them one day. It is all about putting in the work. I have to keep working hard and maybe I will get there."