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Cristiano Ronaldo’s 2008 Ballon d’Or-winning campaign has been voted the best in the history of the prestigious individual football award in a public poll organised to celebrate its 70th anniversary.
The Ballon d’Or announced Ronaldo as the winner of its “Ballon d’Or of All Time” (BOAT) vote on Wednesday, after fans had their say in a poll that opened on October 1 and closed at 23:59 Paris time on October 27. The vote asked fans to choose their favourite Ballon d’Or-winning season.
The result was shared on Wednesday by football transfer journalist Fabrizio Romano via his X page.
Lionel Messi’s 2012 season finished second, with Ronaldo’s 2017 campaign third. Messi’s 2023 season took fourth, while Ronaldo’s 2016 campaign rounded out the top five. The top ten also includes Ronaldo’s 2014 and 2013 seasons, plus Messi’s 2015, 2011 and 2009 campaigns.
Ronaldo’s winning season came in 2007–08 with Manchester United, where he scored 42 goals in all competitions, including 31 in the Premier League and seven in the Champions League. United won both the Premier League and Champions League, with Ronaldo scoring in the final against Chelsea. His league tally earned him the European Golden Shoe, and he went on to win his first Ballon d’Or later that year. The Portuguese legend subsequently won the award four more times, in 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2017, taking his career tally to five.
Full Ballon d’Or of All Time public-vote results