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Cristiano Ronaldo has beaten Lionel Messi in a fan vote to have his 2008 campaign named the greatest season in Ballon d’Or history, reigniting the long-running rivalry between the two football superstars.
The special poll, titled “Ballon d’Or of All Time”, was organised by UEFA and French magazine France Football to mark the 70th anniversary of the prestigious award. Voting began on October 1 and closed on Tuesday night, with the winner announced on the Ballon d’Or website.
According to Argentine newspaper Clarín, Ronaldo’s 2008 season received 446 points, while Messi’s 2012 campaign finished second with 281 points, a margin of 165 points.
Ronaldo’s victory was largely driven by his outstanding 2007-08 season with Manchester United, when he scored 42 goals in 49 appearances across all competitions. He helped the English club win both the Premier League and the UEFA Champions League, earning his first Ballon d’Or in recognition of his individual performances and team success.
Messi’s 2011-12 campaign was equally remarkable for its scoring records. The Argentine scored 91 goals in 69 appearances for Barcelona across all competitions, breaking Gerd Muller’s long-standing record for goals in a calendar year. Messi won the Copa del Rey and Spanish Super Cup with Barcelona that season and claimed his fourth Ballon d’Or in 2012.
The poll featured the greatest seasons of 10 multiple-time Ballon d’Or winners, including eight-time recipient Messi, five-time winner Ronaldo, and three-time winners Johan Cruyff, Michel Platini, Marco van Basten and Franz Beckenbauer. Ronaldo Nazario, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Kevin Keegan and Alfredo Di Stefano were also included.
The results highlighted the dominance of Messi and Ronaldo, whose campaigns occupied all 12 positions in the ranking. Brazilian legend Ronaldo Nazario, the 2002 winner, placed 13th.
The voting process also faced allegations of irregularities. The Ballon d’Or website rejected claims of vote manipulation, reporting that 5,009 users had voted more than once. Of them, 44 cast between 10 and 26 votes, 300 submitted five to nine votes, and 4,665 voted two to four times.
No separate trophy will be awarded for the special recognition, according to the organisers.
Although the result brings no additional silverware, it offers Ronaldo another distinction in his enduring rivalry with Messi, whose extraordinary scoring record in 2012 had made him a leading contender for the title.
