Ballon d'Or 2017: Who Claimed Football's Ultimate Prize and How the Votes Unfolded
The 2017 Ballon d'Or gala represented the last occasion when only the men's prize was presented, as additional categories were established in subsequent years.
The 62nd edition of this prestigious award went to Cristiano Ronaldo for his fifth triumph, equaling Lionel Messi's tally at that point. Though history would later see the Argentine surpass his Portuguese counterpart, these two football legends engaged in an annual rivalry for this honor across several seasons. The 2017 Ballon d'Or also represents what may be Ronaldo's final victory in this competition.
Below is the breakdown of how the voting unfolded during the 2017 Ballon d'Or awards ceremony.
Men's Ballon d'Or 2017 Winner
Position | Player | Club | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid | 946 |
2 | Lionel Messi | Barcelona | 670 |
3 | Neymar Jr. | Barcelona / PSG | 361 |
4 | Gianluigi Buffon | Juventus | 221 |
5 | Luka Modrić | Real Madrid | 84 |
6 | Sergio Ramos | Real Madrid | 71 |
7 | Kylian Mbappé | Monaco / PSG | 48 |
8 | N'Golo Kanté | Chelsea | 47 |
9 | Robert Lewandowski | Bayern Munich | 45 |
10 | Harry Kane | Tottenham Hotspur | 36 |
11 | Edinson Cavani | PSG | 32 |
12 | Isco | Real Madrid | 28 |
13 | Luis Suárez | Barcelona | 27 |
14 | Kevin De Bruyne | Manchester City | 25 |
15 | Paulo Dybala | Juventus | 23 |
16 | Marcelo | Real Madrid | 21 |
17 | Toni Kroos | Real Madrid | 20 |
18 | Antoine Griezmann | Atlético Madrid | 17 |
19 | Eden Hazard | Chelsea | 16 |
20 | David de Gea | Manchester United | 15 |
T-21 | Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang | Borussia Dortmund | 14 |
T-21 | Leonardo Bonucci | Juventus / Milan | 14 |
23 | Sadio Mané | Liverpool | 10 |
24 | Radamel Falcao | Monaco | 9 |
25 | Karim Benzema | Real Madrid | 7 |
26 | Jan Oblak | Atlético Madrid | 4 |
27 | Mats Hummels | Bayern Munich | 3 |
28 | Edin Džeko | Roma | 2 |
T-29 | Philippe Coutinho | Liverpool | 0 |
T-29 | Dries Mertens | Napoli | 0 |
While Ronaldo claimed the trophy, a remarkable seven Real Madrid stars earned nominations in 2017, featuring club icons Sergio Ramos, Marcelo and Luka Modrić. The Galácticos were amid their Champions League hat-trick run, considering the Ballon d'Or was traditionally awarded based on calendar year performance. Ronaldo and his teammates would later triumph over Liverpool in Kyiv, Ukraine that season, securing their fourth European crown of the decade.
Ronaldo surpassed Messi by a margin of 276 points, with both superstars joining Neymar Jr. and Gianluigi Buffon as the only nominees to exceed 100 points.
2017 also represents the final ceremony featuring exclusively the men's Ballon d'Or. The subsequent year witnessed the introduction of the women's Ballon d'Or and Kopa Trophy, honoring the world's top female footballer and most promising young talent respectively.
The next ceremony in 2018 would prove historic in the award's legacy, breaking the extended period of supremacy held by Ronaldo and Messi.