Ronaldo picks up Ballon d’Or
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Ronaldo beats off Messi and Torres to scoop Ballon d'Or
77 of 96 football writers choose Ronaldo as their No1 player.
Winger is first Premier League player to win award since 2001.
Cristiano Ronaldo was voted the No1 player on 77 of 96 ballot papers.
Cristiano Ronaldo was today confirmed as the winner of the 2008 Ballon d'Or, beating competition from Barcelona forward Lionel Messi and Liverpool striker Fernando Torres. The prestigious award was confirmed in Paris this morning by France Football magazine, who present the trophy based on a poll of 96 top journalists.
The Manchester United winger came second in last year's poll, behind Brazil star Kaka, but his outstanding form last season, scoring 42 goals in all competitions for United, ensured he took top billing this time. The 23-year-old's coronation was a resounding one, with 77 of the 96 writers voting him as their No1 player of the year in a poll which formerly rewarded Europe's best player, but has been expanded to include players from all over the world.
Each voter names five players on their final ballot, awarding five points to their first choice and one point to their fifth. Ronaldo's was the only name to appear on each of the 96 ballots, polling 446 points out of a maximum 480.
Messi and Torres were rewarded for fine seasons of their own, by earning the silver and bronze positions but were some way short of challenging the heavily-tipped Ronaldo, with respective returns of 267 and 165 points.
Ronaldo scored 42 goals last season to propel United to glory in both the Barclays Premier League and Champions League, adding a further four international goals. His summer efforts at Euro 2008 were overshadowed by a long-running transfer tussle involving Real Madrid but his achievements continue to be recognised.
The 23-year-old is already FIFPro World Player of the Year and also took the top domestic prizes from the Professional Footballers' Association and the Football Writers last season. Ronaldo's latest triumph makes him the first United player to claim the Ballon d'Or since George Best in 1968 and the third Portuguese winner after Eusebio and Luis Figo.
It is the first time a Premier League player has scooped the award since Michael Owen won it in 2001 after firing Liverpool to treble-cup success.
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he is going to hao lian again
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No wonder he needed to protect his face with his hands during the recent derby.
He needs to save his face for the photographers.
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Originally posted by charlize:
No wonder he needed to protect his face with his hands during the recent derby.
He needs to save his face for the photographers.
LOL
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I'm analysed to death, says Ron
CRISTIANO RONALDO has complained about the level of scrutiny he is under as a Manchester United player.
He is happy to pick up individual awards, perform tricks in front of millions, take part in photo shoots and be regarded as the best player in the world.
Yet he is struggling with the attention that comes with all that. Ronaldo said: “I have come to understand that every movement I make, on or off the pitch, is analysed to death. “If I don’t celebrate goals, it is because I am sad. If I talk to the public, it is because I have lost my humility. My slightest gesture gets every type of criticism.
“People are always waiting for me to do something and they just pick on what are absolutely normal and unimportant things to criticise. “They analyse things that have nothing unusual about them through a magnifying glass.”
Ronaldo would also like everyone to know he is very humble, at the same time referring to himself in the third person and claiming he gets criticised only as he is the best.
He says he is ‘a Cristiano Ronaldo who is humble, respectful, works hard, is ambitious and a perfectionist’. The Portuguese maestro declared: “Cristiano Ronaldo will continue to be the same as he always was, regardless of what happens on and off the pitch. “But as my friends say, and as people who know me well say, they only criticise the best. So what else can I say? Just that I am damned if I do and damned if I don’t.”
Ronaldo was heavily criticised recently, after being quoted as saying he should finish first, second and third in the poll for the world’s best player. But he insisted: “Anyone who knows me knows I would never make that sort of statement. It would not be right to show my professional colleagues so little respect and, as well as that, it is not what I think.
“What I really think is that all the other players nominated for the prize as the best player in the world have the ability to win. “Anyone close to me knows that collective trophies are much more important than individual prizes.
“Of course, I am not going to lie. I have to admit I am proud of winning individual prizes. Also, I am not a hypocrite. And so I think that, in view of everything that happened last season, I am very well placed to win the prizes that are being awarded.
“But I would never say I am the first, second and third best in the world. “It is a question of respect for the other candidates and because I think they all have the potential to win.”
Ronaldo is back to his best form, after a summer ankle operation and the controversy over his trying to move to Real Madrid. He said: “I have scored some important goals, I have improved and genuinely believe I can have a season as good as the last one or even better.”
He was thankful on Sunday that his team-mates held out for a win at Manchester City, after his 68th-minute sending-off for a bizarre handball.
Ronaldo admitted: “It was a good game for United and a vital victory. We ended up getting the result with 10 players and that was undoubtedly very important.”
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congrats. i must say you're really good. but don hao lian pls.
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Ballon d'Or full results
1. Cristiano Ronaldo (Man Utd), 446 points
2. Lionel Messi (Barcelona), 281 pts
3. Fernando Torres (Liverpool), 179 pts
4. Iker Casillas (Real Madrid), 133 pts
5. Xavi Hernandez (Barcelona), 97 pts
6. Andrei Arshavin (Zenit St Petersburg), 64 pts
7. David Villa (Valencia), 55 pts
8. Kaka (Milan), 31 pts
9. Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Internazionale), 30 pts
10 Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), 28 pts
11. Marcos Senna (Villarreal),16 pts
12. Emmanuel Adebayor (Arsenal), 12 pts
13. Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), 11 pts
14. Sergio Aguero (Atletico Madrid), 10 pts
15. Frank Lampard (Chelsea), 8 pts
16.Franck Ribery ( Bayern Munich), 7 pts
17. Samuel Eto'o (Barcelona), 6 pts
18. Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus), 5 pts
19. Michael Ballack (Chelsea), Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal), 4 pts
21. Didier Drogba (Chelsea), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), Nemanja Vidic (Manchester United), 3 pts
24. Edwin van der Sar (Man Utd), Ruud van Nistelrooy (Real Madrid), 2 pts
No votes: Karim Benzema (France, Lyon), Pepe (Portugal, Real Madrid), Luca Toni (Italy, Bayern Munich), Rafael van der Vaart (Netherlands, Real Madrid), Yuri Zhirkov (Russia, CSKA Moscow). -
Some interesting facts:
By club
Clubs are ranked according to the number of Ballon d'Or awards their players won while they were playing for the club. Clubs that Ballon d'Or winners played for during the first part of the year only are not included.
By league
By leagueLeague Wins Clubs Clubs 
Italy19 3 Juventus (1961, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1993, 1998, 2003, 2006)
Milan (1969, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1992, 1995, 2004, 2007)
Internazionale (1990, 1997)
Spain12 2 Real Madrid (1957, 1958, 1959, 2000, 2002)
Barcelona (1960, 1973, 1974, 1994, 1999, 2005)
Germany9 4 Bayern Munich (1970, 1972, 1976, 1980, 1981)
Hamburg (1978, 1979)
Borussia Mönchengladbach (1977)
Borussia Dortmund (1996)
England6 3 Manchester United (1964, 1966, 1968, 2008)
Blackpool (1956)
Liverpool (2001)
Soviet Union3 2 Dynamo Kyiv (1975, 1986)
Dynamo Moscow (1963)
Czechoslovakia1 1 Dukla Prague (1962) 
Portugal1 1 Benfica (1965) 
Hungary1 1 Ferencváros (1967) 
Netherlands1 1 Ajax (1971) 
France1 1 Marseille (1991) League Wins Clubs Clubs Italy19 3 Juventus (1961, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1993, 1998, 2003, 2006)
Milan (1969, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1992, 1995, 2004, 2007)
Internazionale (1990, 1997) Spain12 2 Real Madrid (1957, 1958, 1959, 2000, 2002)
Barcelona (1960, 1973, 1974, 1994, 1999, 2005) Germany9 4 Bayern Munich (1970, 1972, 1976, 1980, 1981)
Hamburg (1978, 1979)
Borussia Mönchengladbach (1977)
Borussia Dortmund (1996) England6 3 Manchester United (1964, 1966, 1968, 2008)
Blackpool (1956)
Liverpool (2001) Soviet Union3 2 Dynamo Kyiv (1975, 1986)
Dynamo Moscow (1963) Czechoslovakia1 1 Dukla Prague (1962) Portugal1 1 Benfica (1965) Hungary1 1 Ferencváros (1967) Netherlands1 1 Ajax (1971) France1 1 Marseille (1991) Congrats to Ronaldo for a deserved award
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congratz!
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'Touched' Ronaldo receives Ballon d'Or in Paris
SEALED WITH A KISS ... Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo was overcome by joy as he finally got his hands on the prestigious Ballon d'Or trophy in Paris. The Manchester United winger was named as Kaka's successor in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
On Sunday he was presented with the Ballon d'Or trophy - a golden ball - in a televised ceremony and admitted it was a dream come true.
''I'm very, very happy,'' he said. ''It's a dream I've had since I was younger, I've always dreamed about winning it one day. ''I'm very moved, very happy and I'd like to take this opportunity to dedicate this trophy to my family, they've helped me get here.
''I thank my mother, my father ... my close friends. I had a whole list of people I wanted to thank but it's difficult, I can't remember as it's too emotional. ''The trophy is splendid, marvellous, very beautiful. I've waited for this.''
Of the 96 leading journalists polled, 77 voted Ronaldo as their number one player this year and every one placed him in their top five after he scored 42 goals in United's Premier League and Champions League winning season.
Ronaldo polled a massive 446 points from a maximum of 480, finishing comfortably ahead of second-placed Lionel Messi (281) and third-placed Fernando Torres (179).
The 23-year-old even had a tear in his eye as he listened to people pay tribute to his stunning year. ''I'm very touched,'' he said. ''Very moved, I'm very sensitive. ''But I'd like to thank my fellow professionals especially my team-mates without whom I wouldn't have been able to win the Ballon d'Or.
''It's also thanks to them that I have this award. ''I was 18 when I came to Manchester, very young. I always had great hopes of becoming a great footballer, in Europe and the world and that's what I've always tried to do - to improve year by year.
''Of course it's not been easy but I don't regret anything that I've done to get here. ''I always dreamed of lifting this trophy and it's thanks to God that I have it now.''
