Cristiano Ronaldo wins BOAT award, beats Messi’s record-breaking 2012 season
Cristiano Ronaldo's 2008 Manchester United campaign won the inaugural fan-voted BOAT award. The result placed it above Lionel Messi's record-breaking 2012 season.
- Oct 29, 2026,
- Updated Oct 29, 2026, 3:51 PM IST
Portuguese football star Cristiano Ronaldo has won the inaugural Ballon d’Or of All Time (BOAT) award, with fans voting his 2008 campaign at Manchester United as the greatest individual season in the history of the Ballon d’Or.
Introduced by France Football, the award sought to identify the finest individual season among past Ballon d’Or winners, adding a new dimension to the long-running debate over football’s greatest players. Unlike the traditional Ballon d’Or, which is decided by an international panel of journalists, the BOAT award allowed fans worldwide to cast their votes digitally.
Ronaldo’s 2008 season emerged ahead of those of his long-time rival Lionel Messi, including the Argentine’s record-breaking 91-goal calendar year in 2012, according to Goal.com.
The result recognised the campaign in which Ronaldo won his first Ballon d’Or after an outstanding season with Manchester United. He helped the English club win the Premier League and the UEFA Champions League in 2007-08, scoring 42 goals across all competitions.
The nomination list featured several legendary footballers who had won the Ballon d’Or multiple times, including Johan Cruyff, Michel Platini, Marco van Basten, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Kevin Keegan and Franz Beckenbauer. Real Madrid great Alfredo Di Stefano and Brazilian striker Ronaldo Nazario were also among the nominees.
Voting required a fee of one euro, with participants automatically entered into a prize draw for two tickets to the 2027 Ballon d’Or ceremony. More than 5,000 people reportedly voted multiple times in an effort to help their preferred player or season win the award.
Ronaldo and Messi dominated the final rankings, occupying the top 12 positions between them. Ronaldo Nazario’s 2002 Ballon d’Or-winning campaign broke their run, finishing 13th.
The inaugural BOAT award placed Ronaldo’s first Ballon d’Or triumph above Messi’s historic scoring achievements, offering fans another way to compare two of the defining players of modern football.