Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo Wins the Ballon D'Or

Manchester United winger Cristiano Ronaldo won the European Footballer of the Year Award in France on Tuesday. The 23-year-old Portuguese star is the first from his country to win the coveted " Ballon D'Or " award, which is given by France Football, since Luis Figo in 2000. CR7 has spoken often about his chances of winning this despite protestations from opposing fans. At one point he actually declared himself not only the best footballer in the world, but second and third too. He scored a remarkable 42 times in 49 matches as United secured a memorable league and European Cup double. Lionel Messi finished in second place with Fernando Torres in third. This award has been presented since 1956 by the French football magazine France Football, it is awarded to the player considered to have performed best over the previous year. The first to lift this honour was Blackpool player Stanley Matthews. Prior to 2007, the player had to be a member of a club based within UEFA's jurisdiction in ... (link)