Cristiano Ronaldo is missing the haters: Pandemic-era football is boring!

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Dubai, Dec 28: Cristiano Ronaldo has declared football is "boring" without supporters and says he misses the buzz of being booed by fans of rival teams.

The Juventus and Portugal forward was given the Player of the Century award at the Globe Soccer Awards in Dubai on Sunday. The prize was given to the player considered the world's best from 2001 to 2020.

Even as the accolades pile up, the 35-year-old admits he is not enjoying the game as much as he did previously, and he puts that down to the pandemic keeping fans locked out of stadiums.

The Serie A season is taking place behind closed doors for now, and reigning champions Juventus have not been the force they were last term, sitting sixth after 13 games.

Ronaldo still appears to be coming up to scratch, with 12 goals in 10 Serie A appearances and another four in four games in the Champions League.

But the five-time Ballon d'Or winner said: "I have to be honest: to play in the stadium empty it's boring in my opinion.

"The players all respect the protocol and the health is the most important, of course.

"But I don't like it, to be honest. I do it because first of all I love football. I play for my family, for my kids, for my friends, for the fans, but I don't like it. It's so weird to play without [fans].

"I like it when the people boo Cristiano - when I touch the ball they go: 'Booo!'

"I hope in '21 they can change the rules and see stadiums full of people."