The key facts

  • For the 70th anniversary of the Ballon d'Or, fans were asked to choose the greatest winner of the award of all time (B.O.A.T.)
  • First place went to Cristiano Ronaldo of 2008, second to Lionel Messi of 2012
  • The entire top 10 consists of Ronaldo and Messi; the best of the rest is Ronaldo (2002) in 13th place

Fans have chosen the greatest Ballon d'Or winner of all time

To mark the 70th anniversary of the Ballon d'Or award, the organizers held a poll on their website, asking fans to choose the B.O.A.T. — Ballon d'Or Of All Time, the greatest winner of the award in history. Kun.uz reported. The list of candidates included footballers who had won the traditional Ballon d'Or at least twice: Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Ronaldo, Marco van Basten, Michel Platini, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Kevin Keegan, Franz Beckenbauer, Johan Cruyff and Alfredo Di Stefano.

How the voting went and who made the top 10

Voting required a payment of 1 euro, and users could cast an unlimited number of votes for their candidate — these conditions set by the organizers should be taken into account when assessing the result. According to Kun.uz, the final top ten consisted entirely of Ronaldo's and Messi's versions of the award: first place went to Cristiano Ronaldo of 2008, second to Lionel Messi of 2012, followed by Ronaldo-2017, Messi-2023, Ronaldo-2016, Ronaldo-2014, Messi-2015, Ronaldo-2013, Messi-2011 and Messi-2009. Among the other candidates, the best result was achieved by Ronaldo of 2002 — 13th place.