Cristiano outshines Messi and achieves unprecedented feat

Cristiano Ronaldo has won the BOAT award, launched by UEFA in collaboration with "France Football", to honor the best player to have ever won the Ballon d'Or, through a public vote that included players who have won the award at least twice.

Cristiano Ronaldo came in first place thanks to his Ballon d'Or win in 2008, when he was a player for Manchester United, surpassing Argentine Lionel Messi, who finished second for his award in 2012. Meanwhile, Ronaldo returned to take third place for his Ballon d'Or win in 2017.

The competition featured ten of football's greatest legends, including Messi with eight Ballon d'Or awards and Ronaldo, who has won the prize five times, alongside Marco van Basten, Michel Platiny, and Johan Cruyff, each of whom has won it three times.

The list also included Brazilian Ronaldo, Franz Beckenbauer, Kevin Keegan, Alfredo Di Stéfano, and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, as each of them has won the Ballon d'Or at least twice.

Fans were given the opportunity to vote for one euro per vote, with a draw for two tickets to attend the Ballon d'Or ceremony in 2027 among participants, according to the details announced about the award.

Cristiano Ronaldo has five Ballon d'Or titles, winning his first in 2008 with Manchester United, before adding four more in 2013, 2014, 2016, and 2017 during his time with Real Madrid.