Cristiano Ronaldo believes he "deserved" to win this year's Ballon d'Or after finally breaking Lionel Messi’s four-year dominance of the award in Zurich on Monday night.
The tearful 28-year-old Real Madrid and Portugal star, who won the award in 2008, had been the overwhelming favourite to pip Barcelona and Argentina wonder Messi, winner the previous four years, and France’s Franck Ribery, who claimed the treble with Bayern Munich in 2013.
Ronaldo won with 27.99 per cent of the votes ahead of Messi (24.72 per cent) while Ribery was third (23.36 per cent) according to France Football, co-organisers of the award with FIFA.
“There are no words to describe how I feel,” said Ronaldo. “I’m delighted, I want to thank all my team-mates, all my family in the room. Those who know me, know how many sacrifices I made to win this reward.
“I want to thank all those who had faith in me and I want to speak again about Eusebio and Madiba (Nelson Mandela) and to pay tribute to them one last time.
“Without doubt I deserved this, Messi and Ribery would have also deserved it.
“Each time is different. But I would say that this second Ballon d’Or is more emotional, because my mother and my son are here.”
Real president Florentino Perez paid tribute to Ronaldo.
He said: “The only thing I wish to say is that this Ballon d’Or is justified for Cristiano Ronaldo, it is recognition of hard work, talent, and a desire to win daily.”
For Messi, sporting a striking red dinner jacket, Ronaldo’s win didn’t change very much.
“I would have loved to have won, but as it is the motivation is the same to keep growing, improving and winning things,” he said.
However, UEFA President and French football icon Michel Platini found it strange that Ribery should miss out in a year that he helped Bayern carry all before them.
Indeed Platini, who won the Ballon d’Or three times, said the nature of the award had changed since it fell under FIFA’s aegis in 2010.
He said: “I am very disappointed for Franck Ribery. Next year we will return and it will be Messi-Ronaldo, in two years time the same and three years time ditto.
“I am disappointed because for 50 years the Ballon d’Or took into account results and trophies on the pitch. Here we are talking about the global value of players and that poses a problem.”
Ronaldo, who was widely expected to win after news spread on social media earlier in the day seven members of his family were joining him in Zurich and his club Real were transmitting the award ceremony live on their official TV channel, broke in tears on stage during his victory speech.
Ribery, who won the Champions League, Bundesliga and German Cup with Bayern last season, before adding the European Supercup and Club World Cup before the turn of the year, had been the early front-runner.
But a controversial two-week extension to the voting deadline meant those casting their ballots could take into consideration Ronaldo’s remarkable hat-trick to beat Sweden in the World Cup play-offs in November.
That was widely believed to have been enough to tip the scales in his favour. It comes in a season in which he won nothing with either club or country, an unusual situation for a Ballon d’Or winner, but scored 69 goals for Madrid in the calendar year.
As expected, Jupp Heynckes, who retired after leading Bayern to their historic treble in May, won the coach’s award.
German goalkeeper Nadine Angerer was women’s Ballon d’Or winner while Germany coach Silvia Neid won the women’s coach award.
The Afghanistan Football Association took home the Fair Play award while a special honorary Ballon d’Or was given to Brazilian legend Pele, who never qualified for the award during his career as he never plied his trade in Europe.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic won the Ferenc Puskas best goal award for his stunning, acrobatic overhead kick from 40 yards for Sweden in a friendly against England.
Click this link for the full list of who every international coach and captain voted for.
OTHER WINNERS
Coach of the Year (Mens football)
Jupp Heynckes (B. Munich)
Coach of the Year (Womens football)
Silvia Neid (Germany)
Women’s Player of the Year
Nadine Angerer (Germany)
Ballon d’Or Prix d’Honneur
Pele (Brazil)
Ferenc Puskas Award
Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Fair Play Award
Afghanistan FA
