Ronaldo laughs off Blatter apology

Portugal's forward Cristiano Ronaldo warms up ahead of the second leg of their 2014 World Cup qualifying soccer match against Sweden at Friends Arena in Stockholm November 19, 2013.??[Photo/Agencies]

Real Madrid attacker Cristiano Ronaldo has continued the spat with Sepp Blatter by laughing off the FIFA president's apology.

Blatter apologized on Twitter to the Portuguese star after comments he made about Ronaldo at an Oxford Union address in October.

However, speaking at an awards ceremony, the 28-year-old implied Blatter's apology had fallen on deaf ears.

When asked about an alleged phone call the FIFA president had made to apologize to the Madrid forward, he replied: "I don't have a telephone. My secretary forgot to tell me about it."

Ronaldo was irked by comments Blatter made about him when he said that "one has more expenses at the hairdressers than the other" when comparing him to rival Lionel Messi.

Madrid president Florentino Perez also deemed the remarks "unacceptable", believing them to show favoritism towards Messi in the Ballon d'Or awards.

Ronaldo was crowned La Liga's best player last season by Spanish newspaper Marca on Monday.

"The main thing is to enjoy this prize and the fact that Don Alfredo [Di Stefano] made the effort to be here to present it. I've watched his videos, he was a phenomenon," Ronaldo said of the accolade.

The forward also praised city rivals Atletico Madrid for its impressive start to this season's campaign, with Diego Simeone's side joint-top of the Spanish Primera Division with Barcelona after 15 games. Ronaldo nevertheless strongly believes the title will be end up with his side.

"I'm not surprised by Atletico. I thought they looked strong last season," he said. "They're well organized, have a great coach, great players and a good keeper ... they're going to be fighting for the title and they are a strong candidate. But I'm convinced Madrid are going to win it."

The Portuguese international has been sidelined for Madrid's last two games, but says he will definitely play against Copenhagen in the Champions League on Dec. 10 and feels this could be his best year of his career to date.

"The injury's healed. I've been fine for a couple of days now. We decided not to push it against Valladolid, but I'll play the next game for certain," he continued. "I'm in good form right now, this might be my best ever start to a season, but recent years have all been good too. The formula for success is to work hard."

Ronaldo insisted he is not thinking about the World Cup with Portugal yet.

"You have to take things as they come. Right now I'm with Madrid and my aim is to win the league and the Champions League, as Madrid should aim to do every year, and when the World Cup comes round, we'll see about that," he said.

"The important thing is to think about the present and the here-and-now is Madrid. We're getting better, improving little by little and we're doing well. The thing I want most is to be there for the team and to keep going until the end of the season, which is when the league is won."