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Cristiano Ronaldo

Forward and captain, Portugal

Sports Portugal Hall No. 32

Profile

Why they shine

Cristiano Ronaldo's Ballon d'Or record came at the start of his career and his Champions League record at the end of it. He won the first in December 2008 with 446 points at 23 years old; the next four followed in 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2017, the last of them on the Eiffel Tower with 946 points, the highest winning total of the modern era. He also took the Champions League five times, once with Manchester United and four with Real Madrid between 2014 and 2018, and turned 41 in the 2026 World Cup.

Full name: Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro
Nationality: Portugal
Club (2026): Al Nassr
Position: Forward / captain
Ballon d'Or: Five — 2008, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017
Champions League: Five titles — Manchester United 2008, Real Madrid 2014-2018

Record

Honor record

Ballon d'Or

2008 · Dec 2, 2008

Paris, France

His first, and the first Ballon d'Or for a Manchester United player since Bobby Charlton in 1968. Ronaldo took 446 points to Messi's 281 after a season of 42 league goals and a Champions League treble for United, and became the fifth Portuguese winner after Eusébio, Luís Figo and the two awards taken by Ronaldo Nazário.

Ballon d'Or

2013 · Jan 13, 2014

FIFA Headquarters, Zurich

The second, and the first after four consecutive years for Messi. Ronaldo's 69 goals for Real Madrid and Portugal in 2013, including a hat-trick in the World Cup play-off against Sweden, took him to 1,365 points against Messi's 1,205. The result was announced at FIFA's headquarters in Zurich on 13 January 2014, the last edition voted on by national coaches, captains and journalists.

Ballon d'Or

2014 · Jan 12, 2015

Kongresshaus, Zurich

The third, won in the shortened 30-name format. Ronaldo scored 48 goals in all competitions across 2014-15, 31 of them in the La Liga and a Champions League-leading 17, and Real Madrid won a tenth European title under him. The award was handed over in Zurich on 12 January 2015, with Messi second and Neymar third.

Ballon d'Or

2016 · Dec 12, 2016

Paris, France

The fourth, in the first edition run by France Football alone after six years of the FIFA partnership. Ronaldo took 745 points from 173 national journalists, a record margin of 429 over Messi, and the result was announced from Paris on 12 December 2016 without a gala ceremony, three months after the FIFA partnership ended.

Ballon d'Or

2017 · Dec 7, 2017

Eiffel Tower, Paris

The fifth, and the most emphatic of his five, with 946 points, 276 clear of Messi, and the ceremony staged on the first floor of the Eiffel Tower. Real Madrid had won both the La Liga and the Champions League, and Ronaldo had scored 12 goals in the European campaign to lead its scoring charts. He raised the trophy during the tower's lighting ceremony at 8pm.

UEFA Champions League

2014 · May 17, 2014

Estádio da Luz, Lisbon

La Décima, the tenth European Cup for Real Madrid, won 4-1 against Atlético Madrid in extra time with Sergio Ramos scoring twice in the closing minutes. Ronaldo scored the second, and the Copa del Rey followed the same evening. It was the first of four consecutive European titles he would win in a Real Madrid shirt.

UEFA Champions League

2016 · May 28, 2016

San Siro, Milan

Real Madrid's first successful defence of the European Cup, and the first final decided by a shoot-out since 1984. Cristiano Ronaldo converted one of the five penalties in the shoot-out after a 1-1 draw with Atlético Madrid, in which Sergio Ramos equalised in the 93rd minute to force extra time at the San Siro.

UEFA Champions League

2017 · May 27, 2017

NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kyiv

The first team to defend the Champions League in the competition's new format, and a 4-1 win over Juventus in Kyiv that included a goal and an assist from Ronaldo. Marcelo and Casemiro had put Madrid two ahead inside the first half, and the trophy was Madrid's second European title in three years.

UEFA Champions League

2018 · May 26, 2018

NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kyiv

Real Madrid's third consecutive European title, won 3-1 against Liverpool in Kyiv with a Bale brace and a Salah own goal, and the second in successive seasons, a feat only Bayern Munich, in 2014 and 2016, had managed before. Ronaldo played the full 120 minutes but missed the penalty that would have made it 2-1.

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