Cristiano Ronaldo won the fifth Ballon d’Or of his career on Thursday, finally matching Lionel Messi as the most-awarded winner of one of the sport’s top individual honours.
Ronaldo accepted the award at a ceremony at the Eiffel Tower in Paris, where he said: “I feel very happy, it’s a fantastic moment in my career, I’ve been waiting for this for a long time.
“This year has been great, we won the Champions League and La Liga and, on a personal level, I was a top scorer in the Champions League. Trophies help win these awards and we have to thank my colleagues from Madrid and Portugal, it was very important for me.”
Barcelona’s Messi finished second in the voting, now conducted by a global panel of journalists and organised by France Football magazine after a split from a partnership with FIFA that ran from 2010-15. In October, Ronaldo also won FIFA’s top award, being named Best Men’s Player for the second straight year.
Support InfoStride News' Credible Journalism: Only credible journalism can guarantee a fair, accountable and transparent society, including democracy and government. It involves a lot of efforts and money. We need your support. Click here to Donate