Ronaldo's 'greatest Ballon d'Or of all time' honour sparks paid-vote controversy

To mark the 70th anniversary of the Ballon d'Or, UEFA and France Football have launched a new award this year. Called the 'Ballon d'Or of All Time' (BOAT), it used a global vote to decide which Ballon d'Or-winning season was the greatest.

On Wednesday, France Football announced that Al Nassr captain Cristiano Ronaldo had won the BOAT award as the greatest Ballon d'Or winner in history, in recognition of the Ballon d'Or he won with Manchester United in 2008.

Ronaldo finished ahead of his old rival Lionel Messi, who came second. Messi was considered for the award on the strength of the Ballon d'Or he won in 2012 while playing for Barcelona.

But the voting method sparked controversy as soon as the result was announced. Each vote cost one euro, and a single person was allowed to vote multiple times. Critics say the chance to buy repeated votes has called Ronaldo's recognition into question.

Spanish outlet Marca, citing France Football, reported that 5,009 people voted more than once under the system. Of them, 4,665 voted two to four times, 300 voted five to nine times, and 44 voted between 10 and 26 times.

According to the report, France Football earned a large amount of money from the repeat voting, as fans spent money to vote their favourite star into the title of the greatest Ballon d'Or winner of all time.

The discontent has been strongest among Messi's supporters. Many of them argue that the Argentine star was the more deserving winner because of his historic feat of scoring 91 goals in a single calendar year in 2012.

Despite the questions over the voting method, Ronaldo finished ahead in the result. In the overall Ballon d'Or count, however, Messi still leads: he has won the award eight times in his career, while Ronaldo has won it five times.