Tebas on LFP awards: 'If the voting were open, Cristiano Ronaldo wouldn't win'

Following complaints from Atletico Madrid president Enrique Cerezo and centre-back Diego Godin over the Spanish Professional Football League (LFP) awards, LFP president Javier Tebas hit back on Thursday in defense of the award's format.

Cerezo and Godin's criticism stemmed from the lack of recognition Atleti players felt they received following their La Liga title from last season. Not a single player from the club's 2013-14 side received an award, despite the fact that the club dethroned Barcelona as league champions and also reached the Champions League final.

The lack of respect has led to suggestions that voting for the awards should be made public.

"I'm not going to bring out a thing that the players ... when you talk with the captains, it shouldn't go public," Tebas told Marca. "Because I think that the people must vote freely. If it were published, they'd say: 'This is a friend of mine, I'm with him in the national team, I see him in the other one, this one is a right...", I'm sure of it."

Tebas' tirade didn't end there as he went on to declare that Cristiano Ronaldo, who won the award for best player in the 2013-14 season, wouldn't have claimed the award if voting had been made public.

"This is just my opinion," Tebas continued. "If the voting were open, Cristiano Ronaldo wouldn't win."