Cristiano Ronaldo Beats Lionel Messi, Wins Ballon d’Or of All Time
- UEFA and France Football launched the BOAT award to crown the best win in the history of the Ballon d'Or
- Ronaldo beat Lionel Messi and other legends in a public vote by fans through the Ballon d'Or website
- The shortlist included ten players who had each won the Ballon d'Or at least twice, spanning decades of football history
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Cristiano Ronaldo has been named the Best Of All Time (BOAT) by UEFA and France Football, topping a public vote that pitted him against Lionel Messi and some of the greatest players ever to win the Ballon d'Or.
The award, launched as a joint initiative by UEFA and the organisers of the Ballon d'Or, invited fans to select one winner from a shortlist of ten players, each of whom had won the prestigious individual honour at least twice during their career.
Source: Getty Images
Voting closed in the early hours of Tuesday into Wednesday, with participants paying one euro per vote through the official Ballon d'Or website.
According to the official Ballon d'Or website, Ronaldo's winning entry was tied to his 2008 award, which he claimed while playing for Manchester United, finishing ahead of Messi and Spain's Fernando Torres that year.
Messi, who holds a record eight Ballon d'Or titles, finished second in the BOAT vote for his 2012 edition. Ronaldo also secured third place for his 2017 award, making him the only player to occupy multiple positions in the final standings.
Ronaldo and Messi lead the shortlist
As noted by Goal, the ten candidates represented more than six decades of football excellence. Alongside Ronaldo and Messi, the shortlist featured Dutch great Johan Cruyff and Dutch striker Marco van Basten, French midfielder Michel Platini, and Brazil's Ronaldo Nazário, each a multiple Ballon d'Or winner.
German duo Franz Beckenbauer and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, England's Kevin Keegan and Argentina's Alfredo Di Stéfano completed the list, all of them two-time winners of the award.
Why Messi did not attend Ballon d'Or
Legit.ng previously reported why Lionel Messi did not attend the 2026 Ballon d'Or award ceremony despite being nominated for the showpiece.
Messi, who eventually finished fifth on the official rankings, failed to turn up and instead attended his local football competition in the USA.
Source: Legit.ng
