Ballon d'Or voting controversy surrounding Cristiano Ronaldo: 'I didn't pick him'

Throughout the 2010s, the Ballon d'Or was almost entirely dominated by football titans Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. Argentine wizard Messi clinched the prestigious award five times, while Portuguese maestro Ronaldo triumphed on four occasions. Only Luka Modric managed to disrupt their reign in 2018.

However, the decade wasn't without its share of controversy surrounding the award. Ronaldo's victory in 2013 followed a season where he netted an impressive 55 goals, but his trophy cabinet that season was relatively bare after his Real Madrid side fell short in La Liga and the Champions League.

The final result was incredibly tight, with Ronaldo securing just 27.99 percent of the vote, barely edging out Messi (24.72) and Franck Ribery (23.36). Ribery felt hard done by after a stellar season with Bayern Munich, winning the league, cup and Champions League treble, but some involved in the voting process took their scepticism about the results even further.

In January 2014, Catalan media outlet La Xarxa (via BT.dk) reported that several international managers who voted for the award claimed the official results didn't match their submitted votes. These included Jorvan Vieira, then manager of Kuwait, and Fiji's coach Juan Carlos Buzzetti.

Vieira expressed doubts about the voting process after it was reported he voted for Messi, Neymar, and Ronaldo. "I think there has been some fraud here, because I also voted for [Zlatan] Ibrahimovic," he said. Despite his claim, no suggestion of actual fraud has emerged over the years.

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Buzzetti was another to highlight discrepancies, questioning if the Fijian captain's votes were incorrectly attributed to him. "I voted for Cristiano, Messi and Ribery," Buzzetti insisted. "I have not voted for [Robert] Lewandowski in any way, he is not on the same level as the other three. Could it be my captain who voted like that?"

Gianni De Biasi, the Albania manager, also disputed the published votes: "I gave five points to Ronaldo, three to Messi and one to Ibrahimovic. I did not give five to Ibrahimovic. This is bulls**t and lies."

Ronaldo went on to clinch the award again the following year, bolstered by his Champions League triumph with Real Madrid in 2013/14 and a personal tally of 51 goals in 47 matches. Franck Ribery, reflecting on the 2013 accolade, felt he had a strong case.

"I have won everything with the team and individually," Ribery said in January 2014. "Ronaldo won nothing. I'm not sad, but it hurts the heart. Do not get me wrong, I am proud to have been there. I feel I deserved this title. There are so many politics.

"When I see the top XI that was chosen [for FIFA's team of the year] - there are only three Bayern players there. This is madness! [Thomas] Muller must be there, [David] Alaba, [Bastian] Schweinsteiger, [Arjen] Robben.

"We won five titles, made history. Who has done that before? I'm sure, if Barcelona and Madrid stood in the Champions League final, the team would consist only of players of Real and Barca."

The race for the 2025 Ballon d'Or is shaping up to be another nail-biter. Last year saw a close battle with Manchester City's Rodri just edging out Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior, leaving the rest trailing.

This year, Paris Saint-Germain's Ousmane Dembele is tipped as the frontrunner, but he's got stiff competition. Barcelona's young sensation Lamine Yamal is hot on his trail according to bookies, while Raphinha, his club mate, and Premier League champion Mohamed Salah are also in the mix.

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