Cristiano Ronaldo waited im his car until he was announced Serie A player of the year

Cristiano Ronaldo caused controversy at the Serie A awards night - by reportedly staying in his car until he was announced as the winner of the MVP award.

Ronaldo was nominated for the Ballon d'Or but snubbed the ceremony in Paris, where Lionel Messi moved one ahead of his rival by picking up the award for a record sixth time.

Earlier in the day, Juventus ace Ronaldo had taken to Instagram to post a picture of himself relaxing in Lisbon, while in the evening he was in Milan for Serie A's Gala del Calcio, where he was honoured with the best forward and MVP awards.

But the 34-year-old only made a brief appearance at the ceremony - oddly being held on the same night as the Ballon d'Or gala.

And according to one journalist who was at the awards night, when Ronaldo did eventually emerge from his car his bodyguards pointed torches at cameras in an apparent bid to stop them getting shots of the Portuguese ace.

With his absence from the Ballon d'Or ceremony noted, Ronaldo reportedly waited in his car outside Serie A awards until it was time for him to pick up his MVP prize