Monday was a special day for
Abdulaziz Alshehri. The 2015 Fifa
Interactive World Cup champion was a
guest of honour at the Ballon d'Or
ceremony in Zurich and got to meet
Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and
Neymar as well as a host of top
players at the gala event.
Alshehri, who has just turned 25, won
the Fifa Interactive World Cup in
Munich last May when he played as
Portugal, with Ronaldo scoring the
goals that gave him the title plus a
prize of $20,000.
Thanks to that triumph, the Saudi
Arabian gamer was also invited to
Monday's Ballon d'Or and received a
special certificate from the Portuguese
forward during the ceremony.
And on Tuesday, he met with Goal in
Zurich to discuss his experience at the
gala event.

How was your experience at the Ballon
d’Or ceremony?
"I thought the moment I held the
FIFA Interactive World Cup trophy
was the best moment of my life. But
after what I experienced on Monday
night, I have to think again. I don’t
know which one is better. So maybe if
it’s not holding the trophy, it’s
actually being at the Ballon d’Or.
"It’s incredible to meet these players,
to shake their hands, to talk to them.
They are really simple, they are not
what we see on video or TV. Even when
I was at the press conference, before
they went in, all three of them were
behind the stage and they were all
just laughing. They were not very
complicated as the media says, it was
very fun to see this."

How was it meeting Messi, Ronaldo and
Neymar? Who else did you meet?
"I met [Andres] Iniesta first, he was
very friendly and smiling, a simple
guy and shy. Right after that Dani
Alves, he is not very shy! He is also
cool and he asked me: ‘do you play
Fifa?’ And then Neymar. Neymar was
just very tiny, he was very small.
Maybe he’s the smallest guy I ever
met. He doesn’t look like what you see
on the TV. And then we were waiting
for Cristiano, but there were too many
people around him, so we couldn’t
actually meet at that moment. Then
we met [Luka] Modric, who is a little
bit shy. Then Messi as well. He was
cool, but he was rushing. There were
people around him. Maybe because
he’s a star. Messi was very special for
me because I wanted so badly to take
a picture of him. He is the icon now.
"Then I met [Paul] Pogba. It was
really cool how he dressed. I asked
him if he wanted to play FIFA and he
said ‘I know you are the world
champion so I’m not going to play
you’. I met Marcelo at the ceremony.
I also met Sergio Ramos. He was very
nice and he asked me: ‘are you a fan
of Madrid?’ I’m not a fan, but I told
him ‘yeah whatever you want’ and he
was like, ‘OK!’ He was laughing. He was
the best out of everyone to meet.
"Then we went to the press
conference. And there was CR7 who
gave me my FIFA Interactive World
Cup champion certificate. That was a
very special moment because right
after I published the photo on Twitter
and Instagram, and the whole Middle
Eastern news were talking about it."

Who was your favourite of the three
Ballon d'Or contenders?
"My favourite was Ronaldo. Because I
won the FIFA Interactive World Cup
thanks to him. And because he was
the nicest. From the first game (in
the World Cup) he scored the first
goal, the second goal, and in the last
game he scored the hat-trick in the
final."

Who do you think deserved to win the
Ballon d’Or?
"Messi, I guess, deserved to win the
Ballon d’Or. But actually I wanted
Iniesta to be on the podium because I
think he deserves to win the Ballon
d’Or - at least once in his career."
Did you meet any other famous
players or celebrities at the ceremony?
"Iniesta, Alves, Thiago Silva, Marcelo,
Sergio Ramos, Messi, Ronaldo,
Neymar, Pogba, Modric. Clarence
Seedorf as well, Kaka. It’s not bad for
one day! I took pictures with all of
these players."

Who do you think dressed the best at
the ceremony?
"The best dressed? Of course Pogba. I
liked his outfit, it was very special. He
had another one as well. He was really
cool. I didn’t think he would be
talking to me in English, I thought he
would speak in French but he spoke
English.
"I wore traditional Arabic clothes to
the Ballon d’Or. It’s our official
dress. I don’t know if that has
happened ever before in Zurich. So I
think I had the honour of being the
first person to dress like this."
Is it true you played FIFA ’16 with
Ronaldo, Messi, and Neymar in a limo
before the Ballon d’Or?
"We couldn’t play with them. Messi
didn’t want to play because he didn’t
want to lose. And Neymar has a
contract with a different game which
is a rival to FIFA. Ronaldo, I think he
doesn’t play the game. I asked him,
he said ‘no I don’t’ play."

Have you ever played any other
famous footballers or celebrities at
FIFA ’16?
"In my home country, yes. I had a
show and it was broadcast on the
biggest TV in the world, on a tower
screen - it was a special moment for
me. I had my own show and it was on
the biggest channel in the Middle
East, with some players from the
Saudi national team. It was
incredible."

Are you a big football fan in real life?
"I’m a big football fan. I love
football, I love every single detail
about it. In my home country I
support Al Hilal, but in the world I
support Internazionale."

Who is your favourite player?
" O Fenomeno Ronaldo is my favourite
player."
Messi or Ronaldo – who is better?
"Each player has different qualities.
For example, Ronaldo is a complete
forward, Messi is a genius. Ronaldo
has powerful shots, Messi can take on
so many defenders at once. I don’t
know who is better. They are both the
best I think."

If you had to pick your ultimate
dream XI – what would it be?
"I would choose Dida, Jaap Stam,
Paolo Maldini, Cafu and
Roberto Carlos in defence. In midfield
I would have Patrick Vieira, Zinedine
Zidane and Ronaldinho. On the right
wing Messi, on the left Roberto Baggio,
and as a striker Ronaldo - the
Brazilian one."

Source : http://m.goal.com/s/en-gb/news/3871/ballon-dor/2016/01/13/19290672/messi-wont-play-me-as-hes-scared-to-lose-fifa-video-game

I enjoyed reading this interview. The guy tried his best at being diplomatic but he just couldn't find a place for Ronaldo in his first 11.