Cristiano Ronaldo lands Ballon d'Or

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Cristiano Ronaldo lands Ballon d'Or from Lionel Messi (December 7th 2017)

Cristiano Ronaldo has won the Ballon d'Or for a fifth time to move level with rival Lionel Messi.

The Real Madrid forward was named the winner of France Football's prestigious award at a ceremony in Paris on Thursday.

The award caps a year in which Ronaldo has won LaLiga, the Champions League and the Spanish Super Cup with Real Madrid, as well as helping Portugal qualify for the 2018 World Cup.

"I feel very happy, it's a fantastic moment in my career, I've been waiting for this for a long time," the 32-year-old said in the ceremony at the Eiffel Tower.

"This year has been great, we won the Champions League and La Liga and, on a personal level, I was a top scorer in the Champions League.

"Trophies help win these awards and we have to thank my colleagues from Madrid and Portugal, it was very important for me."

Messi, the only other player to have won the award since 2008, finished second in the voting while Neymar, who joined Paris St Germain in a world-record transfer deal this summer, was third.

Ronaldo previously won the award in 2008, 2013, 2014 and 2016.

Ronaldo and Messi stand alone with five wins, two ahead of the three managed by Michel Platini, Johan Cruyff and Marco van Basten.

Ronaldo has had an outstanding 2017, helping Madrid to a LaLiga, Champions League and Spanish Super Cup treble this year.

The Portugal international has scored a total of 49 goals in all competitions for club and country and became the first player in Champions League history to score in each of his club's group-stage matches.

Chelsea's N'Golo Kante was eighth in the voting, the highest-placed of the seven Premier League players nominated, with Tottenham's Harry Kane 10th.

Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne was 14th, Chelsea playmaker Eden Hazard 19th and Manchester United goalkeeper David De Gea 20th.

Liverpool pair Sadio Mane and Philippe Coutinho were 23rd and 29th respectively.

Ronaldo: The Numbers

49 - goals scored in 2017 - 38 for Real, in 45 games, and 11 in 11 for Portugal.

6 - Ronaldo scored in every game of this season's Champions League group stage, the first player ever do so. In all, he scored nine times in Madrid's six games.

3 - trophies won by Real this season - LaLiga, the Champions League and the Spanish Super Cup.

4 - it was Ronaldo's fourth Champions League title, three with Real and one with Manchester United.

417 - Ronaldo's record Real Madrid goal tally, in nine seasons with the club.

619 - career goals for Real, United (118), Sporting Lisbon (five) and Portugal (79).

42 - hat-tricks for Madrid including a club-record 32 in LaLiga. Two came in 2017, in the knockout stages of last season's Champions League.

2 - he has also been named the FIFA men's player of the year both years since the award once again split from the Ballon d'Or.