Two days after the “Golden Ball” ceremony, the BOAT award was presented—a new honor created by the French magazine “France Football” with the aim of recognizing the greatest winner in the competition’s history. The winner is Cristiano Ronaldo—specifically, the Portuguese player who won the award in 2008.
This was the first “Ballon d’Or” of Cristiano Ronaldo’s career, and it received more votes than the one won by Lionel Messi in 2012. The Portuguese and Argentine players dominate the top 12 spots on the list, until Ronaldo Nazário appears with his own award from 2002.
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OFFICIAL: Ballon d’Or announce Cristiano Ronaldo 2008 has been voted as the BEST BALLON D’OR OF ALL TIME.
https://t.co/gr3nYytkiu
What the Portuguese player did in 2008
Cristiano Ronaldo took first place in that year’s voting, earning 446 points, with Lionel Messi following with 281. Next in line were Fernando Torres with 179 points, Iker Casillas with 133, and Xavi Hernández with 97.
That season, the then-23-year-old Portuguese player had won both the Champions League and the Premier League with Manchester United. At the same time, he scored 31 goals in the English league, a feat that earned him the Golden Boot, leaving behind Dani Guiza, who had scored 27 goals in La Liga.
“France Football” created a special award for its latest issue, the new Ballon d’Or of All Time, which deviated from the established voting process. This time, it was the magazine’s readers—rather than journalists—who were asked to select the greatest soccer player of all time.
All players who had won the Ballon d’Or at least twice in their careers were eligible, with the vote focusing on the specific year of each win. For example, readers were asked to choose either Lionel Messi from 2012 or Cristiano Ronaldo from 2008. This was the list of nominees for the award.
Nominees for the BOAT Award
- Lionel Messi: 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019, 2021, and 2023
- Cristiano Ronaldo: 2008, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017
- Ronaldo Nazário: 1997 and 2002
- Marco van Basten: 1988, 1989, and 1992
- Michel Platini: 1983, 1984, and 1985
- Karl-Heinz Rummenigge: 1980 and 1981
- Kevin Keegan: 1978 and 1979
- Franz Beckenbauer: 1972 and 1976
- Johan Cruyff: 1971, 1973, and 1974
- Alfredo Di Stefano: 1957 and 1959
Fans had the opportunity to feel like members of the judging panel for the first time, but they had to pay one euro to participate in the voting. In exchange, they were entered into a drawing for two tickets to the 2027 awards ceremony.
According to the French media outlet, 5,009 people voted more than once. Of those, 44 voted between 10 and 26 times, 300 voted between 5 and 9 times, and 4,665 voted between 2 and 4 times.
*photo source: AP
