Cristiano Ronaldo failed to attend FIFA’s The Best ceremony in Milan on Monday evening despite being among the three candidates to win the Men’s Player of the Year award.

It marks the second straight year that Ronaldo has skipped the event.

Presumably, the Juventus star was made aware that he hadn’t won the main prize and so didn’t see his attendance as worthwhile.

And, let’s face it, he would have hated watching Lionel Messi claim the award.

Ronaldo posted a cryptic message on Instagram minutes after the conclusion of the ceremony.

Featuring a photo of himself relaxing in his home, the 34-year-old shared a philosophical message that only added to the mystery surrounding his no-show.

Ronaldo’s absence made for a rather awkward moment at the ceremony when his name wasn’t read out when the FIFA FIFPro World XI was announced, despite him being included in the team.

And the governing body have been left angered by Ronaldo’s failure to turn up.

FIFA angered by Ronaldo's no-show

According to Spanish outlet Marca, FIFA believed Ronaldo’s presence at the award show was a given as late as Monday afternoon.

However, his absence became more evident as time passed. And it became clearer at this point that Messi would claim the top prize.

Ronaldo lives just 150km from Milan, raising even more questions about his decision not to attend.

And FIFA president Gianni Infantino’s disappointment in Ronaldo was made clear when he spoke glowingly about Messi and pointed out that he had finally earned FIFA’s coveted individual prize in the men’s game.

More criticism was aimed Ronaldo’s way when the voting for the men’s award was revealed.

The Portugal international failed to vote for Messi in any of his three selections, instead choosing Matthijs de Ligt, Frenkie de Jong and Kylian Mbappe, in that order.

Messi, meanwhile, did include Ronaldo, making the former Manchester United and Real Madrid forward his second option behind Sadio Mane and ahead of De Jong.