Cristiano Ronaldo: Manchester United star did not receive a single Ballon d'Or vote

By Tom Hancock
published

For the first time in 17 years, the five-time previous winner didn't even make it onto the podium at the Ballon d'Or awards

Close-up shot of Manchester United striker Cristiano Ronaldo during a pre-match warm-up
(Image credit: Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)

Cristiano Ronaldo received zero votes for this year's Ballon d'Or, the award's organisers have revealed.

The Manchester United (opens in new tab) star placed 20th on the 2022 Ballon d'Or list, which was revealed at Monday's ceremony in Paris – hot favourite Karim Benzema collected football's ultimate individual gong for the first time.

But it's now emerged that Ronaldo – who's scooped the prize five times in the past – was one of 11 players not to get a single vote.

France Football (via Goal) (opens in new tab) – who have presented the Ballon d'Or since its inception in 1956 – have published details of how many votes each player ended up with. Joining Ronaldo on zero were: Harry Kane, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Phil Foden, Bernardo Silva, Joao Cancelo, Joshua Kimmich, Mike Maignan, Christopher Nkunku, Darwin Nunez and Antonio Rudiger.

Ronaldo's 20th-placed finished marked the first time he'd not been on the Ballon d'Or podium since 2005. It was the first time since 2006 that neither he nor Lionel Messi – who wasn't even nominated this year – had appeared in the top three.

Karim Benzema holds the Ballon d'Or trophy after being announced as the winner of the 2023 Ballon d'Or on 17 October, 2022

Benzema became the third Real Madrid player in five years to win the Ballon d'Or, after Ronaldo and Luka Modric (Image credit: Aurelien Meunier/Getty Images)

Close-up shot of Manchester United striker Cristiano Ronaldo during the warm-up before the Premier League match between Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur on 19 October, 2022 at Old Trafford, Manchester, United Kingdom

Ronaldo has been making headlines for the wrong reasons once again, after refusing to come on as a substitute in midweek (Image credit: AFP via Getty Images)

The news comes during another controversy-tinged week for Ronaldo, who refused to come on during United's 2-0 win over Tottenham (opens in new tab) at Old Trafford on Wednesday – and stormed down the tunnel before full-time.

Consequently, Erik ten Hag has made the Portuguese train alone and dropped him from the squad for Saturday's trip to Chelsea (opens in new tab).

Thank you for reading 5 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access

Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription

Join now for unlimited access

Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

Tom Hancock

Tom Hancock started freelancing for FourFourTwo in April 2019 and has also written for The Analyst and When Saturday Comes, among others. He supports Wycombe Wanderers and has a soft spot for Wealdstone. A self-confessed statto, he has been known to watch football with a spreadsheet (or several) open...