CRISTIANO RONALDO wins the Ballon d’Or Of All Time (BOAT) award, after fans voted his 2008 Ballon d’Or as the greatest Ballon d’Or winning season!
Ronaldo’s 4 Ballon d’Or-winning seasons were voted in the top 6. All his 5 Ballon d’Ors came in the top 8.
CRISTIANO RONALDO was unmatched in the fan vote!
Understanding the BOAT: The BOAT in reality is not the best player that has ever won the Ballon d’Or. It is the best Ballon d’Or winning season by a player.
As explained by France Football, the idea of the BOAT is to select, from a shortlist of ten players who have won the Ballon d’Or at least twice, the greatest Ballon d’Or-winning season of all time.
What this means is that the BOAT celebrates the footballer whose Ballon d’Or win left absolutely no one indifferent. In other words, the BOAT celebrates that season the winner was most obvious and unquestionable.
That explains why the Ronaldo’s 2008 campaign won the vote count. That season, Ronaldo, playing as a winger, scored a mind-blowing 42 goals and won a historic treble with Manchester United. He was top scorer in the Champions League with 8 goals in 11 matches; he was top scorer in the Premier League with 31 goals in 34 matches (a then-joint record for most goals in a 38-game EPL season).
That year was a transition year in terms of individual brilliance. The 2007 winner Ballon d’Or winner Kaka did not win any major title with AC Milan and crashed out early in the Champions League, while the 2005 winner Ronaldinho was facing the slump he hardly ever recovered from. Ronaldo’s impeccable season, therefore, was like a city of light built on a hill, so glaring for all to see. There was
genuine challenger.
The player that came second in the Ballon d’Or ranking that year was Lionel Messi. He won nothing that season with Barca, and managed 10 goals and 12 assists in LaLiga. It was a bad season overall for Barca and they were on the threshold for a transition.
In conclusion, the 2008 Ballon d’Or contest was the most uneven. Ronaldo did not even have anyone challenge him. He was light years away from everyone. That is why it has been voted as the BEST BALLON D’OR WINNING SEASON, otherwise THE MOST UNDISPUTED OR MOST EVIDENT BALLON D’OR WINNING SEASON.
The BOAT award concerned only players who have won the Ballon d’Or more than one time. If it included every single winner, Benzema’s Ballon d’Or, dubbed the people’s Ballon d’Or, would have been among the best as well.
Congratulations to Ronaldo! No one among the contestants dominated a season like he did in 2007-2008.
Dr Ade Divine