Cristiano
Ronaldo has been named the inaugural winner of the BOAT (Ballon d'Or of All Time) award, with fans voting his 2008 campaign at Manchester United as the greatest individual season in the history of football's most prestigious individual honour.
Introduced by France Football, the award was designed to spark debate over which Ballon d'Or-winning campaign deserved to be considered the greatest of all time. Ronaldo came out on top after a fan-driven voting process, beating long-time rival Lionel Messi to the honour.
Fans favoured Ronaldo's first Ballon d'Or-winning season in 2008 over Messi's remarkable 91-goal calendar year in 2012, a record that still stands.
Unlike the traditional Ballon d'Or, where an international panel of prominent journalists determines the winner, the BOAT award allowed fans to cast their votes digitally. The voting list featured some of football's most celebrated names, including Johan Cruyff, Michel Platini, Marco van Basten, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Kevin Keegan and Franz Beckenbauer. Real Madrid legend Alfredo Di Stefano and Brazilian great Ronaldo Nazario were also among the nominees.
The voting process required participants to pay one euro,…