Ballon d'Or 2014: Where the votes were cast

The Real Madrid and Portugal star received 37.66 per cent of all the votes from the coaches and captains of international teams and the world's media.

Barcelona and Argentina forward Lionel Messi was second with 15.76 per cent, with Germany and Bayern Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer a close third having received 15.72 per cent.

Predictably given their domestic rivalry, neither Ronaldo nor Messi selected each other in their respective top threes.

Ronaldo voted for Real Madrid team-mates Sergio Ramos, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema, while Messi named Argentina and Manchester United winger Angel di Maria and Barcelona midfielders Andres Iniesta and Javier Mascherano in his top three.

Neuer, whose presence in between the posts was key to Germany's success at the World Cup, received votes for the top award from national coach Joachim Low and captain Bastian Schweinsteiger.

Messi was selected by fewer than half of the 182 international captains that voted, despite breaking the all-time goalscoring records in La Liga and the UEFA Champions League in 2014.

However, among those to vote for Messi as the best player of 2014 was former Barca team-mate Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who left the Catalan club in 2011 citing a break down in relations with then coach Pep Guardiola - reportedly over his decision to promote the Argentinian to a central striking role over the Swede.

PSG striker Ibrahimovic himself received a number of first-place votes as did Neymar, Iniesta, Mascherano, Bale, Ramos, Schweinsteiger and Philipp Lahm in a poll of over 500 individuals.

Also earning top votes were names such as Thibaut Courtois, Arjen Robben, Thomas Muller, Diego Costa, Toni Kroos, Mario Gotze James Rodriguez and Paul Pogba.