Cristiano Ronaldo wins third Fifa Ballon d'Or

Cristiano Ronaldo has won his third Fifa Ballon d’Or title, fighting off the challenge of Germany’s goalkeeper Manuel Neuer and Lionel Messi, who has now been beaten twice in succession by his great Real Madrid rival.

This is the age of Ronaldo, who wept on the podium last year but this time let out a “Yahoo!” and was joined on stage by his son. In a stellar year Ronaldo led Real to their 10th European title and broke the Champions League scoring record with 17 goals across the campaign.

“It’s been an unforgettable year,” he said. “To win this trophy – a trophy of this kind – is something unique, and all I can say is that I want to continue working as I have, and go on to more titles for my mother and my wife – and my father, who is up there looking down on me – and my son.

“I should like to say to all the people of Portugal I never thought I would earn this trophy on three different occasions. I want to become one of the greatest players of all time. This requires a lot of effort. I hope to get there.”

In England, Wayne Rooney voted : 1) Ronaldo, 2) Toni Kroos and 3) Gareth Bale. Roy Hodgson, the England coach, voted 1) Javier Mascherano 2) Philipp Lahm 3) Neuer.

 

Neither Messi nor Ronaldo voted for one another. Messi now leads Ronaldo 4-3 in this gilded age of attacking play.