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A decade after he was last honored by France Football, Cristiano Ronaldo is back in the running for recognition this year as one of the contenders to be crowned the B.O.A.T., the Ballon d’Or of All Time.
The clunkily named prize is a new edition launched by the French magazine in honor of the award’s 70th anniversary. The task is simple, “Which was the ultimate golden year?”
Fans are given the chance to vote for the greatest single year performance delivered by any multiple Ballon d’Or winner in the award’s history. Was Ronaldo’s triumph in 2017 better than Lionel Messi’s 2015? What of the earlier vintages, should Michel Platini’s 1984 stand above Johan Cruyff’s triumph from a decade earlier?
This is the question facing anyone willing to pay €1 ($1.12) to vote on the official Ballon d’Or website.
In terms of raw statistics, no one has ever enjoyed a more dominant round of Ballon d’Or voting than Messi in 2009. Of the 96 judges, 90 voted the impish figurehead of Pep Guardiola’s all-conquering Barcelona in first place. A perfect score at this year’s ceremony would have been 480 points, Messi’s ended the night with a swollen haul of 473.
Michel Platini’s heroics for France at the 1984 European Championships also earned him near universal acclaim while the more modern vintage of Karim Benzema was a widely accepted victor in 2022.
Yet, scarcely has there been a player with the blend of force and finesse in the mould of Ronaldo Nazário from 1997. The then-21-year-old trampled all before him during his maiden season in Barcelona, storming his way to the youngest ever Ballon d’Or triumph.
Cristiano Ronaldo in Manchester United blue. pic.twitter.com/VrZW311vUk
— Sports Illustrated FC (@SI_FootballClub) July 22, 2026
There’s an argument to be made that Ronaldo peaked during his penultimate year at Manchester United. The sharpened point at the tip of Sir Alex Ferguson’s last great team was instrumental in the club’s capture of the Premier League—setting a single-season scoring record—while also scoring in a triumphant Champions League final against Chelsea.
Ronaldo was most content eight years later, when he led Portugal to the national team’s first ever major trophy at Euro 2016. “I have cried three of four times already and my brother had to tell me to calm down. And I said: ‘Hugo, I can’t,’” the captain gushed after the final.
“It’s true, from the bottom of my heart, I swear on my son’s life, I am so very, very, very happy. I could repeat this 100 times. I am so happy. This is the trophy that was missing.”
The Ballon d’Or trophy has been missing from Ronaldo’s cabinet since 2017 but that could change this year.
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