As expected by most, Cristiano Ronaldo was crowned the best player of 2014 this evening as he picked up the Ballon d’Or trophy for the 3rd time in his career, and for the 2nd consecutive year.

Ronaldo had another exceptional year in 2014 and was heavy favourite to win the award ahead of Lionel Messi and Manuel Neuer who both joined him on the 3-man shortlist and who finished 2nd and 3rd respectively.

1. Ronaldo – 37.66%
2. Messi – 15.76%
3. Neuer – 15.72%

The Real Madrid star averaged over a goal a game for club and country last year, scoring an incredible 61 goals in 60 appearances.

	Goals	Assists	Appearances
Portugal	5	1	9
Real Madrid	56	21	51
Total	61	22	60

Ronaldo’s final 2014 calendar year stats

These goals helped Ronaldo and his team to a number of achievements in 2014 including:

• European Golden Shoe
• Copa Del Rey
• Champions League
• UEFA Super Cup
• Club World Cup

This latest triumph for Ronaldo moves him to within one of Messi’s record haul of 4 Ballon d’Ors, meaning next year’s award will carry even greater significance for both players.

Player	1st Place	2nd Place	3rd Place
Messi	4	4	0
Ronaldo	3	3	1

Ballon d’Or achievements of Messi and Ronaldo

Here’s hoping both Ronaldo and Messi can maintain their super-human levels in 2015 and make it yet another unforgettable year full of even more goals, trophies and broken records.