Cristiano Ronaldo admits he will have to miss games in bid to prolong his career after winning Ballon d'Or 2016

The Real Madrid megastar signed a new long-term deal earlier this year, but know he must make adjustments to his game

Cristiano Ronaldo admits he will have to sit out some Real Madrid games in a bid to prolong his career.

The Portuguese superstar beat rival Lionel Messi to win the 2016 Ballon d'Or on Monday night after helping Los Blancos to Champions League glory.

Ronaldo, who also captained his country to European Championship success, signed a bumper new contract earlier this year to tie himself to the Bernabeu until 2021.

However, the 31-year-old admits he may struggle to continue playing two games a week.

"It's a totally normal thing. Not only for me," he told France Football. "With age, every human loses something but gains something else.

"I always look at how to be at my best physically and in my game. I think of all that, not only for this season but for the next as well. For example, to manage the matches, in the sense of not playing everything.

"You have to be intelligent. To train as well as possible, to have a more personalised preseason. And to think a little more about the end of the sesaon, not only the start.

"It's not a sprint, but a marathon. You have to use your head. Not only me, but also those around me.

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"There are a lot of people who advise me at Real among those who look after me directly. I'm going to learn.

"You have to do it, and accept reality, which is that I am 31. It's not easy, because I feel really good, but I see that the recovery after games is not exactly the same. It's a little slower, particularly when I have put in very intense effort every three days.

"It's impossible to always be at your best, even for a youngster. If I look after myself, I think I can have a very long career."

Ronaldo has shown no signs of slowing down this season after plundering 12 goals in 17 games.

However, the former Manchester United forward admits he may have to switch positions to a more central role to remain at the top of his game.

"Why not? It's an idea to think about," he said. "I'm ready and I accept things change. It's not a problem.

"I don't just have the ambition of winning the Ballon d'Or. The main thing is to play football, to train in the rain, the cold.

"When I no longer feel that desire to play and to train, I'll stop. In life, everything has a beginning and an end. Even more so in football.

"I know that there will come a time when I can no longer score 50 goals a season, nor win the Ballon d'Or or even be nominated. It's a normal process. In two or three years, I don't know if I'll still be nominated. But I hope so."