Cristiano Ronaldo Holds Little-Known Ballon d'Or Record over Lionel Messi
Cristiano Ronaldo holds a little-known Ballon d'Or record over his great rival Lionel Messi.
The pair are widely regarded as two of the greatest players of all time, dominating the award for over a decade. Between them, they claimed every Ballon d'Or from 2008 to 2018.
Since then, Messi has gone on to add another three to his collection, bringing his total to a record eight, while Ronaldo has lifted the prestigious trophy five times. But despite trailing in total wins, Ronaldo still boasts the biggest winning margin in Ballon d'Or history.
Back in 2016, he beat Messi by an astonishing 429 points. That year, Barcelona beat Real Madrid to the La Liga title by just one point, but Los Blancos responded by lifting their 11th Champions League crown.
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Ronaldo was instrumental, finishing the European campaign with 16 goals, as well as the decisive penalty in their shootout victory over Atletico Madrid in the final.
He also tasted success on the international stage.
At Euro 2016, he helped Portugal to their first-ever major trophy, scoring twice in the group stage and the opener in their semi-final victory over Wales.
Although he was forced off with injury in the final against the hosts France, his teammates secured a shock 1-0 victory.
What are the other biggest Ballon d'Or winning margins?
Behind Ronaldo's 2016 triumph Luke Modric, Ronaldo again, Messi and Zinedine Zidane make up the top five. Messi may feel slightly wronged, as between 2010 and 2015 the Ballon d'Or briefly changed to a percentage scale.
He won four of his awards during that period, but the margins are not comparable.
The second-biggest winning margin came in 2018, when Modric ended Ronaldo and Messi's duopoloy of the award. The Croatian inspired Real Madrid to a Champions League crown and led his country to a World Cup final.
He ultimately finished 277 points clear of Ronaldo. Ronaldo takes third place with his 2017 Ballon d'Or victory.
He scored 42 goals across the season, and played a key part in Real Madrid's La Liga-Champions League double, even bagging a brace in the Champions League final.
Messi is fourth on the list, with a winning margin of 240 points from Ronaldo in 2009.
The Catalans won a historic sextuple, including victory over Ronaldo's Manchester United in the Champions League final.
The top five is completed by, who recorded a winning margin of 176 points over Davor Suker in 1998. Zidane's Juventus side won the Serie A title, before he played an instrumental role in France lifting the World Cup, defeating Brazil in the final.
Topics: Ballon d'Or, Cristiano Ronaldo, FC Barcelona, Football, Football News, Inter Miami, Lionel Messi, Real Madrid
James Taylor