The key facts

  • Cristiano Ronaldo has been named winner of the all-time 'Ballon d'Or' in a paid fan vote.
  • First place went to his 2008 title, ahead of Lionel Messi's 2012 award.
  • France Football organizers stressed the symbolic nature of the poll marking the award's 70th anniversary.

Ronaldo named winner of the all-time 'Ballon d'Or' in a fan vote

Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo has won a special poll organized by France Football magazine to mark the 70th anniversary of the Ballon d'Or. According to official data published on the magazine's website, the footballer was named the best player of all time in a fan vote in which supporters from around the world took part. The winning entry was Ronaldo's specific 2008 award, when he played for Manchester United and won the English championship and the Champions League.

Voting mechanism and the distribution of places

A distinctive feature of this poll was that voting was paid: participants paid 1 euro for each vote. After the votes were counted, first place went to Ronaldo's 2008 Ballon d'Or, second to Lionel Messi's 2012 award, and third to Ronaldo's 2017 title. Notably, the top 12 of the ranking consists entirely of awards won by just these two footballers, and only in 13th place did the Brazilian Ronaldo appear with his 2002 victory. France Football magazine stresses that this initiative is symbolic in nature and is not counted as an additional official trophy in a player's statistics.

Context of the event and reaction

The vote lasted a month and was timed to the award's anniversary. After the results were announced, Ronaldo posted a message of thanks to fans on social media, and the Portuguese Football Federation congratulated the national team captain, calling him the greatest winner in history. It is worth noting that the current holder of the 2026 Ballon d'Or is England captain Harry Kane, which confirms that the annual award is independent of the historical poll. Although Messi holds the record for the total number of awards (eight to Ronaldo's five), it was the Portuguese's 2008 season that fans recognized as the best in the entire history of the award. The organizers noted that the result is symbolic in nature and does not add an official award to the footballer's statistics.