Cristiano Ronaldo vs Ballon d’Or – ‘Evidence’ of bias, Lionel Messi reaction slammed, voting ban

Ronaldo may have landed five Ballon d’Or awards in his career but that has not stopped the superstar from having a controversial past with the prestigious FIFA ceremony

Ronaldo has won five Ballon d’Or awards (
Image: AFP/Getty Images)

Cristiano Ronaldo may have won five Ballon d’Or awards in his storied career but that hasn’t stopped him from having a checkered past with the prestigious ceremony.

The former Manchester United and Real Madrid star has won the award five times – picking up the Ballon d’Or in 2008, 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2017 – and is only second to Lionel Messi who has eight.

However, the Portuguese superstar does lead the way in nominations with 18 to his name. While known for not taking too kindly to losing, Ronaldo’s successful history with the award has often ran parallel with some bouts of controversy over the years.

From bizarre fan theories around a ‘bias’ against Ronaldo and accusations of disrespect to Messi, Ronaldo and the Ballon d’Or has never been a quiet affair. So, with 2024’s ceremony taking place on Monday, let’s take a look at Ronaldo vs the Ballon d’Or.

‘Evidence’ of bias

Supposed ‘evidence’ of a campaign to limit Ronaldo from taking home any more Ballon d’Or awards was unearthed by a Ronaldo superfan in October 2023. The fanatic compiled what they believed was confirmation that Ballon d’Or voting has been biased against the Al-Nassr forward.

The lengthy thread on X included eight separate posts which started with the fan suggesting that Messi’s ‘image’ might be more preferable to voters. The second post was meant to back up the first point by showing live scenes from a ceremony in which a photo of a Ronaldo’s magazine cover, of the star wearing boxer shorts, was shown to the audience

The third post shows former FIFA president Sepp Blatter calling Messi a “good boy” and Ronaldo a “commander” on the pitch, while a fourth displayed an interview of former UEFA president Michel Platini saying that Ronaldo didn’t deserve to win his 2014 award.

Cristiano Ronaldo on his fifth victory at the ceremony ( 
Image:
AFP/Getty Images)
The final clips show Blatter praising Messi contrasted with World Cup highlights including Ronaldo sitting on the bench. The very last post shows Ronaldo’s own view of the situation from 10 years ago, which read: “This video shows the respect and consideration that FIFA has for me, my club and my country.”

Enough proof to confirm a functioning bias against Ronaldo? Perhaps not.

Ronaldo’s reaction to Lionel Messi

In what was a memorable moment for the award ceremony, Ronaldo once displayed his competitive side after Lionel Messi won the Ballon d’Or in 2023. The Inter Miami star’s World Cup triumph with Argentina helped him secure his record breaking eighth individual honour but that didn’t go down well with the ex-Real Madrid forward.

While Ronaldo has said on numerous occasions he has huge respect for Messi, his reaction to the Argentine skipper winning the award again would suggest he was not entirely happy about it. Siario AS journalist Tomas Roncero then went on a rant about Messi’s individual triumph.

He said: “Hello friends. What we knew has happened. They were going to give another Ballon d’Or to Messi.

Ronaldo and Messi have faced-off for the Ballon d’Or on many occasions ( 
“Messi has eight Ballons d’Or well, he should have five, he has the Ballons d’Or of [Andres] Iniesta and Xavi, [Robert] Lewandowski who won six trophies in one season and Haaland who was the top scorer of everything.” Ronaldo then liked the controversial post and even contributed to it by commenting four laughing emojis.

Ronaldo ‘should be banned’ from voting in Ballon d’Or

Ronaldo questioned the integrity of FIFA’s The Best award after it was handed to Messi in January 2024. The ex-Juventus star expressed his dismay after picking up the Fans’ Favourite Player prize by claiming individual gongs like The Best and the Ballon d’Or were “losing credibility”.

Danish football journalist Troels Bager Thogersen weighed in, adding that he thought Ronaldo was right, albeit for the wrong reasons. Thogersen, who has been casting Denmark’s vote in the Ballon d’Or for over a decade, believes players shouldn’t be given the vote, primarily because they almost always vote for their team-mates.

When the Ballon d’Or split from FIFA in 2016, international captains and managers were removed from the voting process, leaving appointed journalists as the only individuals who could vote. However, FIFA’s The Best awards, which launched in 2016 to rival the Ballon d’Or, still gives players and coaches a vote, something Thogersen thinks is counter-productive.

“For a decade, I’ve been voting for the Ballon d’Or, and one of the best things to happen in those awards was when the French organisers from France Football and FIFA went their separate ways,” he wrote.

“FIFA took the players and coaches with ‘The Best,’ and it was a huge victory for the Ballon d’Or and those of us who vote for the most prestigious award in the football world, that we no longer had to contend with the players. Because if there’s anyone not aware of their responsibility and should be banned from voting in awards, it’s the absolute biggest football players like Cristiano Ronaldo himself.”

Thogersen pointed out that most footballers who participate in such awards have a history of voting for their friends, voting tactically, or both. Ronaldo, for example, has never cast a single vote for Messi in either the Ballon d’Or or The Best award.

Ronaldo moment branded as ‘disrespectful’

A bizarre moment involving Ronaldo during the 2021 Ballon d’Or ceremony was labelled “disrespectful” by some fans on social media.

For the first time since 2010, Ronaldo finished outside the Ballon d’Or top five. Despite snubbing the ceremony, Ronaldo was still centre stage after organisers showed a picture of the Portugal international on the big screen in his underwear alongside former Chelsea striker Didier Drogba.

The photo, taken by Vanity Fair magazine, ahead of the 2010 World Cup prompted giggles from Messi, Lewandowski and Kylian Mbappe, but the joke appeared to go down like a lead balloon with half the audience not responding. There were later accusations of disrespect on social media from ardent Ronaldo fans.

Ronaldo sold a Ballon d’Or award

How much does the award matter to Ronaldo? The striker actually sold one of them meaning he now only has four of his five Ballons d’Or, after he sold it to Israel’s richest person.

Ronaldo’s Ballon d’Or went to auction in London, with proceeds being awarded to the Make-a-Wish Foundation. Idan Ofer, the richest person in Israel, won the prize with an eye-watering £524,920 (€600,000) winning bid.

The winner of the Ballon d’Or is awarded a replica version – which is usually donated to their club or placed in a personal museum. However, after winning in 2013, Ronaldo elected to donate his to charity.

Ronaldo leads huge names to snub Ballon d’Or ceremony

Ronaldo was not in attendance as Messi scooped his eighth Ballon d’Or in October 2023. However, a ceremony lacking in major footballing superstars led some people to think Ronaldo led an inadvertent mass snubbing of the awards.