Cristiano Ronaldo has been voted in ten different versions of the Ballon d’Or, or FIFA “Best of the Best” award for his role as Portugal captain, while long-time rival Lionel Messi ) received only one vote during this period
Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the greatest football players in the history of the sport and he has a plethora of trophies, records and individual awards to prove it.
Ronaldo won league titles, five Champions League and European Championship titles in three different countries, as well as five Ballon d’Or awards and was twice named FIFA Men’s Player of the Year.
Only Lionel Messi has won more Ballon d’Ors with eight, while Messi, Ronaldo and Robert Lewandowski have all won it twice FIFA Best Award. Both awards are based on voting, with the Ballon d’Or including votes from national team coaches and captains, while the award was merged with FIFA from 2010 to 2015.
Ronaldo has captained Portugal since 2008 and voted for the Ballon d’Or four times, not once choosing Messi. Coaches and captains now vote for the FIFA ‘Best of the Year’ award, which was introduced in 2016 and Ronaldo has voted for it every year except last year.
In 2010, Messi won the Ballon d’Or for the second time and Ronaldo finished sixth. The Portuguese superstar gave his first vote to Xavi, who won the World Cup in Spain that year.
Ronaldo’s Real Madrid team-mate Iker Casillas also impressed at the World Cup and received his second vote, while Wesley Sneijder was awarded after leading Inter Milan’s treble The third vote. Bruno Alves then took over voting duties in 2011 and 2012 and, unsurprisingly, the first vote went to Ronaldo both years.
In 2013, Ronaldo returned and voted for Radamel Falcao, Gareth Bale and Mesut Ozil to win the award for a second time. Ronaldo subsequently voted only for his Real Madrid teammates in the Ballon d’Or and FIFA Best awards between 2014 and 2017.
Bale received votes in 2014, 2015 and 2016, and Sergio Ramos was elected in 2014, 2016 and 2017. Ronaldo also voted for Luka Modric and Karim Benzema twice during this period, while James Rodriguez and Marcelo also received votes.
In 2018, Antoine Griezmann became the first non-Real Madrid player to vote for Ronaldo in five years after helping France win the World Cup, with the Atletico Madrid star chosen alongside Raphael Varane and Modric. . In 2019, Ronaldo was impressed with Ajax’s run to the Champions League semi-finals and voted for De Ligt, De Jong and Mbappe.
Mbappe also received votes the following year, along with Lewandowski and long-time rival Lionel Messi. He subsequently voted for Lewandowski and Chelsea duo N’Golo Kante and Jorginho before Pepe took over voting duties in 2022.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s Ballon d’Or voting history
2010 – Xavi, Iker Casillas, Wesley Sneijder
2013 – Radamel Falcao, Gareth Bale, Mesut Ozil
2014 – Sergio Ramos, Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema
2015 – Karim Benzema, James Rodriguez, Gareth Bale
Cristiano Ronaldo’s FIFA Best Voting History
2016 – Gareth Bale, Luka Modric, Sergio Ramos
2017 – Luka Modric, Sergio Ramos, Marcelo
2018 – Raphael Varane, Luka Modric, Antoine Griezmann
2019 – Matthijs de Ligt, Frenkie de Jong, Kylian Mbappe
2020 – Robert Lewandowski, Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe
2021 – Robert Lewandowski, N’Golo Kante, Jorginho
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