Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo says allegations leveled against him regarding his supposed tax evasion schemes "spoiled" his Ballon d'Or victory.
The 31-year-old Portugal captain was given the coveted award for the fourth time, but the build-up to his victory was spent not with recollection of his stellar year but with allegations that he had used an Irish holding company to dodge tens of millions of euros in Spanish taxes.
While Ronaldo reveled in his victory and thanked his teammates for the "huge honour," he was still a little sour over the media reports surrounding his alleged financial wrongdoing.
"Of course it has spoiled it a little bit," Ronaldo said, according to ESPN FC, of tax evasion claims, as he accepted the Ballon d'Or prize. "I would be lying if I said it hadn't. I'm not a hypocrite.
"I don't always say what I think, because sometimes it works against me. But of course I wasn't pleased. The whole process in itself, and it's not necessary to say where all that started, is hard not only for me, but also for the people alongside me: my family, my son, all those who work with me. My son goes to school. He's starting to understand things.
"All that irritates me, because I try to do things correctly, be transparent. You just have to type 'Cristiano Ronaldo' on the Internet, and you know everything about me.
"I don't have any reason to lie. Everything is written about me, about my girlfriends ... what came out troubles me. Because it's not true. The lie is troubling.
"But I'm a little bit used to people talking about me, for better or for worse. You have to live with it."
Related: Ballon d'Or voting: Messi 2nd, Griezmann 3rd; Vardy surprises in 8th
Ronaldo is used to being under the celebrity microscope, but says the legal allegations aren't in the same realm as some of the other rumours that surround him.
"When people talk about my private life, my friends, the place I went on holiday, whether or not I have a girlfriend, it's normal," Ronaldo said. "But when it's something serious like this, that has to do with the law ... I have my lawyers, the club, the people who work for me. It hurts me, because we always try to do things well.
"When they speak about me, and the way in which they do that, I don't feel good. Because I have done things correctly. There are a lot of innocent people in prison. And I feel a little bit like that. You know you have done nothing wrong, and they say you have done something reprehensible. No one likes that.
"But the truth always comes out. Sooner or later."