Ronaldo Beats Messi to Win 'Ballon d'Or of All Time' Vote With His 2008 Season
The debate over who is the greatest of all time — Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo — has produced a result in a special vote. Ronaldo has won the 'Ballon d'Or of All Time' (BOAT) vote organised by Ballon d'Or; the winning entry was his Ballon d'Or-winning season of 2008.
Ronaldo was announced as the 'Ballon d'Or of All Time' winner on the Ballon d'Or website on Wednesday night.
The vote was a paid one — supporters had to spend one euro for each vote they cast.
The Ballon d'Or authorities had already made clear that this is not an official award, and that no trophy or memento will be given for it.
Supporters did not vote for a player's whole career; they voted for one of the players' specific Ballon d'Or-winning seasons. In this way, the best seasons of 10 Ballon d'Or-winning legends were put forward.
Alongside Messi and Ronaldo, the list of 10 included Ronaldo Nazario, Marco van Basten, Michel Platini, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Kevin Keegan, Franz Beckenbauer, Johan Cruyff and Alfredo Di Stefano.
The 10 players' 32 separate Ballon d'Or-winning seasons were placed into categories. The first 12 places were all taken by Lionel Messi and Ronaldo — five seasons of the Portuguese star, and seven of the Argentine World Cup-winning former captain's eight seasons, were at the top.
Brazil's Ronaldo Nazario placed 15th in the list.
The on-field rivalry between Messi and Ronaldo has taken football to a unique level, which is why the vote drew interest among supporters; the question of who is the greatest of all time, however, remains on the debating table.
