Portuguese and Real Madrid superstar Cristiano Ronaldo won the much acclaimed footballing accolade by beating former winner Lionel Messi and Franck Ribery.
In doing so, the winger ended Messi’s four year reign as “world’s best”.
He scored 69 goals in 59 games for club and country while helping Portugal qualify for the world cup. He surpassed Hugo Sanchez’s scoring record for Real Madrid and matched that of Pauleta for Portugal. He also scored five hat tricks with the most crucial one coming in the playoff against Sweden. He also shattered Messi’s record for the most number of goals scored in the UEFA Champions League group stage.
A poll carried out by ESPN Soccernet saw Ronaldo capturing 71% of the 6,632 votes (as at 0100 GMT) with Messi and Ribery capturing 17% and 12% respectively.
