Cristiano Ronaldo has won the Ballon d'Or World Footballer of the Year award for the second year in a row. The Portugal captain who plies his trade at World Club Cup winner Real Madrid bested his fierce rival Barcelona forward Lionel Messi and Bayern Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer to the award.

Ronaldo successfully defended his status with 37.66% of all votes, winning for a third time. Messi who won four years in a row until Ronaldo beat him last year, was second on 15.76%. He was narrowly ahead of the German goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, who had 15.72%.