Ballon d’Or 2017: Cristiano Ronaldo beats Lionel Messi to preserve fifth award

Proper Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo beat Barcelona’s Lionel Messi to preserve the Ballon d’Or award for the fifth time – and the second twelve months in a row.

Victory took the 32-twelve months-faded Portugal world level with 30-twelve months-faded Argentine Messi, who received essentially the most most up-to-date of his 5 awards in 2015.

Messi’s ex-Barcelona crew-mate Neymar, now at Paris St-Germain, was once 1/three.

Remaining season, Ronaldo helped Proper Madrid preserve the Champions League and their first La Liga title since 2012.

Ronaldo added the 2017 Ballon d’Or to those he received in 2008, 2013, 2014 and 2016, and Messi is the ideal various recipient of the award since 2009.

« Right here is something I witness forward to yearly, » he said, after receiving the award on the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

« Attributable to my Proper Madrid crew-mates. And I wish to thank the support of the of us who helped me attain this level. »

The 2016-17 campaign was once a stellar season for the susceptible Manchester United player.

After serving to Portugal preserve Euro 2016, he scored 42 targets for Proper in all competitions as they received their thirty 1/three La Liga title and 12th European Cup.

He scored twice in a four-1 Champions League final preserve over Juventus and netted 25 times in 29 league video games as Los Blancos accomplished three aspects ahead of Barcelona.

What’s the Ballon d’Or?

The Ballon d’Or is voted for by 173 journalists from spherical the arena.

It has been awarded by France Football yearly since 1956, nonetheless for six years it grew to change into the Fifa Ballon d’Or in association with world soccer’s governing body and was once awarded to the arena’s easiest player.

Nonetheless, Fifa ended its association with the award in September 2016.

At Fifa’s awards in October, Ronaldo was once named the world’s easiest male player and additionally named in the Fifpro World XI.

How did Premier League gamers waste?

Chelsea midfielder N’Golo Kante was once the ideal-placed Premier League player, ending eighth. The France world received his second successive top-flight title closing season and was once named each and each the PFA and Football Writers’ player of the twelve months.

Tottenham striker Harry Kane, the ideal Englishman on the shortlist, accomplished tenth, Manchester City midfielder Kevin de Bruyne was once 14th and Chelsea playmaker Eden Hazard was once Nineteenth.

Liverpool forward Sadio Mane was once 23rd while crew-mate and playmaker Philippe Coutinho was once twenty ninth.

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