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Cristiano Ronaldo Beats Lionel Messi in Controversial All-Time Ballon d’Or BOAT Vote - Which Fans Had to Pay For
- Cristiano Ronaldo's 2008 Ballon d'Or win was crowned the Greatest Ballon d'Or of All Time in a fan vote, finishing ahead of Lionel Messi's 2012 award.
- France Football invented the BOAT award to identify the greatest Ballon d'Or winner among players who earned the honor at least two times, with fans serving as the jury instead of journalists.
- Supporters paid about $1.10 per vote to participate, with organizers raffling two tickets for the 2027 gala. Voting irregularities emerged, as 4,665 people voted between two and four times.
- Messi, who has won the Ballon d'Or a record eight times, finished second for his 2012 performance, while Ronaldo claimed two of the top three spots with his 2017 award ranking third.
- The BOAT award remains a unique experiment in fan engagement by France Football, as results reflect paid participation rather than definitive expert consensus on the greatest Ballon d'Or winner.
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42 Articles
42 Articles
Football fans have decided that the best Ballon d'Or of all time was the one the Portuguese won in 2008 while playing for Manchester United.
·Ljubljana, Slovenia
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The B.O.A.T. poll, organized by football fans as part of the 70th anniversary of the Ballon d'Or, was won by Cristiano Ronaldo's 2008 season with Manchester United. Lionel Messi's 2012 season, in which he scored 91 goals, came in second.
·Türkiye
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The Portuguese was ahead of Messi in the vote.
His 2008 award was won in the vote of the fans to Lionel Messi in 2012
·Vicente López, Argentina
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Total News Sources42
Leaning Left9Leaning Right3Center4Last UpdatedBias Distribution56% Left
Bias Distribution
- 56% of the sources lean Left
56% Left
L 56%
C 25%
R 19%
Factuality
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