Ronaldo goes back-to-back for fifth Ballon d’Or nod
PARIS— A decade of dominance as the world’s two best soccer players has left Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi level with five Ballon d’Or awards each. Despite once trailing 4-1 to his longtime rival, Ronaldo moved level after winning the award again on Thursday.
“With Messi, the fight continues — in a good way,” Ronaldo said after being presented the trophy awarded by France Football magazine at a ceremony held at the Eiffel Tower.
Messi was second in the voting and Neymar, who left Barcelona in the off-season to join Paris Saint-Germain for a world record transfer fee of 222 million ($336 million Canadian), was third. The 30-year-old Messi has been runner-up to Ronaldo on each of his wins. Ronaldo has been runner-up to Messi four times.
“Of course, I feel happy, it’s a big moment in my career,” he said. “It’s something I hope to win every year.”
The 32-year-old Portugal forward also took home the Ballon d’Or prize in 2013 and 2014, and in 2008 when playing for Manchester United.
Last season he won the Champions League for the second straight year — scoring twice in a 4-1rout of Juven- tus in the final — and played a key role as Madrid won the Spanish league title for the first time since 2012. His league tally of 25, however, was his lowest since joining the club in 2009.
Ronaldo is the all-time leading scorer in the history of the Champions League with 115 goals.
“If he can score 10 times in training, he will. That’s what impresses me,” Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane said. “I’m proud to be his coach.”
Ronaldo set another competition record on Wednesday, scoring in Real Madrid’s 3-2 win over Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday to become the first player to find the net in all six group-stage matches, taking his tally to nine so far.
In La Liga it has been a very different story during this campaign. In August, he was banned for five games after shoving a referee in the back following his red card during a 3-1 victory over Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup. He missed the return leg of the Spanish Super Cup in Madrid plus the first four matches of the Spanish league season.
Since then, he has managed only a meagre two in 10 games and Madrid is fourth — eight points behind leader Barcelona. Messi is already well clear with 13 league goals. The rest of the top 10: 4. Gianluigi Buffon (Italy) 5. Luka Modric (Croatia) 6. Sergio Ramos (Spain) 7. Kylian Mbappe (France) 8. N’Golo Kante (France) 9. Robert Lewandowski (Poland) 10. Harry Kane (England) The Ballon d’Or is voted for by 173 journalists worldwide.
It became known as the FIFA Ballon d’Or for six years in conjunction with world soccer’s governing body. That association ended last year, when it became the sole award of the magazine once more.
The last player to win it before either Messi or Ronaldo was Brazil midfielder Kaka — who starred for AC Milan when it won the Champions League in 2007.