Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo has been identified as Best Serie A Player for the 2018/19 season.

Cristiano Ronaldo finished third in the Ballon d'Or on Monday as Lionel Messi pulled clear of him with six titles, however, the Portuguese was named Serie A's best player.

It was learnt that Ronaldo skipped Ballon d'Or ceremony and has received the annual award at Gran Gala del Calcio in Milan.

Absent from Paris, Cristiano was 850 kilometres away in Milan for Italian football's own awards' night.

The Portuguese's presence was a mystery until the last minute, not spotted inside the event until it was time for him to collect his prize, when he then appeared on stage before leaving immediately.

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Cristiano said "I'm proud to be the best player in Serie A,".

"I thank my teammates and everyone who voted for me.

"Now I'll work to be here again next year."

Cristiano was also named in the Team of the Year alongside Samir Handanovic (Inter); Joao Cancelo (ex-Juventus), Giorgio Chiellini(Juve), Kalidou Koulibaly (Napoli), Aleksandar Kolarov (Roma); Miralem Pjanic(Juve), Nicolo Barella (Cagliari/Inter), Josip Ilicic (Atalanta); Fabio Quagliarella(Sampdoria) and Duvan Zapata (Atalanta).

The Juventus forward has registered 21 goals and 8 assists in his debut season in Serie A.