CRISTIANO Ronaldo won the Ballon d’Or for a fourth time last night.
The 31-year-old Portugal and Real Madrid forward topped the poll of 173 journalists worldwide ahead of Argentina’s Lionel Messi and Atletico Madrid forward Antoine Griezmann to cap what has been a remarkable 2016.
Ronaldo played a crucial role as Real beat city rivals Atletico in May to become European champions for a record-extending 11th time. Then, two months later, Portugal triumphed at Euro 2016 in France to claim a major trophy for the first time, despite losing their talisman to injury early on in the final.
The 2016 accolade moves Ronaldo clear of three-time winners Marco van Basten, Michel Platini and the late Johan Cruyff, while he is one behind Messi.
He said: “It is a great honour to receive my fourth Ballon d’Or. It is important to me. The emotion is like the first one. It is a dream come true again. I am so pleased and so happy.”
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