IT’S 5-5 AS CRISTIANO RONALDO EQUALS MESSI’S BALLON D’OR FEAT

Modern day football seems to be about two main characters – Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

When it comes to individual statistics, the mention of one evokes that of the other.

So it was Thursday night in Paris as Portugal and Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo wins the 2017 Ballon D’or which is the  62^nd edition of the glamorous award for the best footballer for a particular year.

In doing so, he naturally beat his La Liga and international rival, Argentina and FC Barcelona’s Lionel Messi. Ronaldo has now won it for the fifth time to equal that of Messi.

Ronaldo scored 42 goals across all competitions during the 2016-17 season, leading Real Madrid to a La Liga and Champions League double.

The 2017 Ballon d’Or final standings run thus:

1. Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)
2. Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
3. Neymar (Paris Saint-Germain)
4. Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus)
5. Luka Modric (Real Madrid)
6. Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid)
7. Kylian Mbappé (Paris Saint-Germain)
8. N’Golo Kanté (Chelsea)
9. Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
10. Harry Kane (Tottenham)