Cristiano Ronaldo insists winning the Ballon d'Or award will not burden him with increased pressure to perform.
The Manchester United forward was handed the prestigious award on Tuesday to crown a phenomenal 12 months in which he scored 42 goals last season to help his club retain the Barclays Premier League title and win the Champions League.
And Ronaldo insists the accolade will only help to improve his performances, telling United's website and television channel: "I always play with pressure because people always expect a lot from me and I don't think that will change."
He added: "Winning this award makes me feel very happy inside because it's one of the best days of my life.
"But my responsibilities are still the same; I want to continue to play well for my club and my country and try to do as well as last season.
"Of course I can improve - there are many things I still need to learn.
"You can never let yourself think you know everything. I am still very ambitious and I will continue to work very hard every day.
"I know it will be very hard to better last season, but I will try - if you don't try you win nothing. A new season means a new challenge and I want to help the team win more trophies."
Ronaldo continued: "It's amazing that only four players in the club's history have won it, I didn't know that until yesterday.
"So it's special for the club and obviously for me and I feel very proud to be part of the history of the Ballon D'Or and the history of this club. You work hard to win team awards and personal awards, but to win this one is very special."
