Ballon d'Or

Ronaldo celebrates award with brace

Ronaldo was presented his trophy for the best player in football in front of the Santiago Bernabeu crowd before kickoff. He received the honour on Friday in a ceremony in Paris, his fifth trophy, equalling Barcelona rival Lionel Messi.

After soaking up the ovation from his fans, the Portugal star went on to have his best performance in the league this season. His brace earned him another loud round of applause when he was substituted late.

Madrid moved into third place, five points behind leader Barcelona, which visits Villarreal on Monday.

Ronaldo wins fifth Ballon d'Or

The 32-year-old was named France Football's player of the year for the fourth time in five years after a brilliant 2016-17 in which he won LaLiga and the Champions League with Real Madrid.

Ronaldo also became the all-time leading scorer in Europe's top five leagues when he reached 366 goals in May to overtake Jimmy Greaves.

His two goals in Madrid's Champions League final victory over Juventus also took the Portugal star past 600 career goals, while Messi only reached the 500 mark for Barcelona six weeks earlier.

Ronaldo wants 7 Ballon d'Or

The Real Madrid star is the favourite to win France Football's prize this year, having fired his side to LaLiga and Champions League glory in 2016-17.

The 32-year-old, who won the trophy last year, is bidding to match long-time rival Lionel Messi on five awards, having already claimed the Best FIFA Men's Player prize for the second year in a row.

But Ronaldo, whose girlfriend Georgina Rodriguez this week gave birth to his fourth child, Alana Martina, is far from finished when it comes to building his legacy on and off the pitch.

 

Emery wants Neymar Ballon d'Or win

PSG smashed the transfer record when they purchased the Brazil star in August, paying €222million to bring him to the Parc des Princes.

Many suggested that Neymar was unlikely to win the Ballon d'Or while playing in the shadow of Lionel Messi at Barcelona, and that he needed to break free and become a different club's answer to the Argentinian superstar.

Unsurprisingly, Neymar has enjoyed a swift and seamless transition to life in Ligue 1, scoring six times in as many league games and he also has a pair of goals from his two Champions League outings.

Pogba can win Ballon d'Or – Martial

The former Juventus star has started the new season in fine form, scoring in 4-0 wins against West Ham and Swansea City to leave United top of the Premier League table after two games.

And while Martial has a number of team goals that he hopes to share with Pogba, he also thinks his friend and team-mate can win the Ballon d'Or, a prize monopolised by Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi over the last nine years.

"We want to win a lot of trophies together at United and we also want to win the World Cup with France," Martial told MUTV.

FIFA to rebrand player of the year

The annual ceremony in Zurich, which until last year was jointly organised with France Football and known as the Ballon d'Or, would be renamed "The Best FIFA Football Awards" following a split with the French magazine, a FIFA statement said.

Under the new system, half the votes would belong to the players and coaches of the world's 211 national teams and half to the public, who will take part via an online ballot, and selected media representatives.

Neymar joins fellow heavyweights on Ballon d'Or shortlist

 Neymar finished third behind the superstar duo last year as Barcelona team-mate Messi collected the prestigious award for the fifth time in his career.

Ronaldo is favourite to usurp the Argentine and collect his fourth gong after firing Real Madrid to Champions League glory before serving as Portugal captain during his country's triumphant Euro 2016 campaign.