Real Madrid star, Cristiano Ronaldo is the World Footballer of the Year for the third time - beating Lionel Messi, the only other man to have won it in the last seven years and World Cup winner Manuel Neuer.
UEFA President Michel Platini headed an illustrious group of supporters of the third man on this year’s short-list, Germany’s Manuel Neuer. But the world cup-winning goalkeeper himself was under no illusions.
Ronaldo (personal wealth estimated at more than £120m) won it as a Manchester United player in 2008. Messi’s magic which brought him the Ballon d’Or four time seems to have fired Ronaldo’s steely determination to reclaim it. And he won it again in 2014. It is not just his goals, nor his flamboyance, but his all-round talent, honed by a relentless work ethic. He is a danger to opposition defenders from long range and close to goal, with either foot and with his head. He creates as well as scores, and he dominates his stage like Laurence Olivier.
"I want to become one of the greatest players of all time," Ronaldo said through a translator in his acceptance speech in Zurich. "Of course, this requires a lot of effort and I hope to get there." He said as he received his trophy from recently-retired French legend Thierry Henry.
In 2014, Ronaldo scored an extraordinary 61 times, broke the Champions League goals record for a season - 17 - and helped Real Madrid win that competition for an unprecedented tenth time.
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