Led by Hernán Crespo, Faustino Asprilla and Javier Zanetti, a panel of 124 experts from 45 nations compiled a countdown of the greatest male players on the planet
Cristiano was voted No.1 by 63 experts, Messi only by 30. (full list)
It is a measure of Cristiano Ronaldo’s astonishingly consistent excellence that a year in which he won the Champions League with Real Madrid before captaining Portugal to victory at Euro 2016 is widely considered to have been a quiet one by his own preposterously high standards.
While his apparently insatiable desire to make everything from the most informal dressing-room team photo to the highlight reels of the biggest football spectacles all about him may grate more often than amuse, it is difficult to ignore the reality that football’s most preening showman is rarely found wanting … even on the rare occasions he is found wanting.
Having failed to score in the Champions League final, he stepped up to fire home the decisive spot-kick in the shootout.
After limping off in the first half of Portugal’s win over France in the Euro 2016 decider, he appointed himself de facto coach to roar, gesticulate and will his less talented team-mates to victory against the hosts.
The No1 choice of just over half of our 122 judges, this was not one of Ronaldo’s better years and he has still managed to end it with his fourth Ballon d'Or award, almost a decade after being presented with his first.
- Barry Glendenning
