This is not the first time that the five-time Ballon d’Or winner hasn’t voted, with Pepe filling in on behalf of him previously. Meanwhile, the Manchester City midfielder went for Rodri as his winner, seconding Vinicius Junior, with Erling Haaland finishing third.
However, the Brazilian lifted the award ahead of the 2024 Ballon d’Or winner, who came second. The Real Madrid man earned 48 scoring points to Rodri’s 43. Los Blancos teammate Jude Bellingham came third with 37 points.
Interestingly Cristiano Ronaldo wasn’t among the nominees for the award this year. However, his bitter rival Lionel Messi was included in the shortlist. The Argentinean finished sixth in the final rankings, with 25 points.
The votes of the La Albiceleste skipper for this year’s award have also been revealed. Lionel Messi opted to make Lamine Yamal his winner, while he selected Kylian Mbappe for the No.2 spot. Vinicius Junior was third in his list. Yamal, interestingly, finished fifth in the final rankings while Mbappe was ninth.
How many times has Cristiano Ronaldo won The Best FIFA Men’s Player of the Year Award?
Cristiano Ronaldo has also won the Best FIFA Men’s Player of the Year twice in 2016 and 2017 for Real Madrid. His most recent appearance on the podium was, however, in 2020, when he finished second after Robert Lewandowski.
Most interestingly, Lionel Messi won it a record three times, in 2019, 2022, and 2023. The Argentinean currently plies his trade with MLS side Inter Miami, while CR7 is with Al-Nassr.
The Portuguese moved to the Middle East in December 2022 after parting ways with Manchester United. So far, he has been a hit with the Saudi side, registering 74 goals and 18 assists from 83 games across competitions. However, the 39-year-old’s contract with Al-Nassr expires at the end of this season and he hasn’t signed a new deal yet.
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