Ronaldo's 2008 season tops France Football's all-time Ballon d'Or fan vote
- Cristiano Ronaldo's 2008 Ballon d'Or-winning season has been voted the greatest in a France Football fan poll.
- Lionel Messi's 2012 campaign finished second, with Ronaldo's 2017 season third in the Ballon d'Or of All Time ranking.
- The poll marked the award's 70th anniversary and is separate from the official Ballon d'Or decided by journalists.
Cristiano Ronaldo's 2008 Ballon d'Or-winning season has been voted the greatest in the history of the award, in a fan poll held by French magazine France Football to mark its 70th anniversary.
The result, released on Wednesday, placed Ronaldo's first Ballon d'Or campaign ahead of Lionel Messi's 2012 season. Ronaldo's 2017 triumph came third, Messi's 2023 season fourth and Ronaldo's 2016 campaign fifth.
The ranking, called the Ballon d'Or of All Time (BOAT), covered 32 winning seasons by 10 players. Football transfer journalist Fabrizio Romano shared the results on social media, and the poll ran from October 1 to October 27.
Why 2008 stood out
Ronaldo won his first Ballon d'Or while at Manchester United, after a 2007-08 season in which he scored 42 goals in all competitions. He netted 31 times in the Premier League and seven in the Champions League, and scored in the final against Chelsea as United won both trophies.
His league tally earned him the European Golden Shoe. In the original Ballon d'Or voting that year, he finished with 446 points from 96 journalists, ahead of Messi.
Ronaldo went on to win the award four more times, in 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2017, for a career total of five. Messi holds the record with eight, including his 2023 win after Argentina's 2022 World Cup triumph.
Further down the fan list, Brazilian Ronaldo Nazario's 2002 season placed 13th and Johan Cruyff's 1974 campaign 17th. Michel Platini's 1984 win came 18th, ahead of Franz Beckenbauer's 1976 season.
What the vote means
The BOAT ranking judged individual winning seasons, not players' overall careers, and is separate from the official annual Ballon d'Or, which a jury of specialist journalists decides. France Football described it as a celebration of fans' passion for the game rather than an official trophy.
Some reports noted that voters paid one euro per vote, and that thousands of people voted more than once. The outcome has restarted the long debate among Nigerian and other football fans over Ronaldo and Messi, whose rivalry has shaped arguments about the world's best player for more than a decade.
