Cristiano Ronaldo has collected his fourth Ballon d’Or as the top player on the planet, according to France Football magazine, for 2016. Having led Real Madrid and Portugal to victory in the Champions League and at Euro 2016 respectively, Ronaldo now trails Lionel Messi, who has five in his collection, by only a single award.
Félicitations @cristiano pour ce 61e Ballon d'Or France Football et cette année exceptionnelle. Parabéns !#ballondor pic.twitter.com/tojoeaelFQ
— L'ÉQUIPE (@lequipe) December 12, 2016
The award ceremony was bereft of any Kanye West-esque moments as Ronaldo is currently in Japan for the FIFA Club World Cup, Messi didn’t make the trip to Paris and Griezmann was in action with Atletico against Villarreal in La Liga.
The final rankings of the world’s top 10 players for 2016 are as follows:
#9 (joint): Gianluigi Buffon - Juventus/Italy
#9 (joint): Pepe - Real Madrid/Portugal
#8: Jamie Vardy - Leicester City/England
#7: Riyad Mahrez* - Leicester City/Algeria *Mahrez was also named the 2016 BBC African Footballer of the Year
#6: Gareth Bale - Real Madrid/Wales
#5: Neymar - Barcelona/Brazil
#4: Luis Suarez - Barcelona/Uruguay
#3: Antoine Griezmann - Atletico Madrid/France
Final ranking of Ballon d'Or France Football 2016 :
3rdANTOINE GRIEZMANN#ballondor pic.twitter.com/Kf1N4vePve
— France Football (@francefootball) December 12, 2016
#2: Lionel Messi - Barcelona/Argentina
Final ranking of Ballon d'Or France Football 2016 :
2ndLIONEL MESSI#ballondor pic.twitter.com/ilikZytySP
— France Football (@francefootball) December 12, 2016
#1: Cristiano Ronaldo - Real Madrid/Portugal
Ballon d'or France Football 2016 winner : CRISTIANO RONALDO#ballondor pic.twitter.com/ECa0u3L6EK
— France Football (@francefootball) December 12, 2016
