Ballon d'Or 2017 - as it happened: Cristiano Ronaldo beats rival Lionel Messi to prestigious accolade in 62nd edition
Live updates from the ceremony in Paris
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Cristiano Ronaldo claimed his fifth Ballon d’Or at the 62nd edition, drawing him level with long-term rival Lionel Messi.
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When will the 2017 Ballon d’Or be announced?
The winner of the prestigious award will be announced on Thursday 7 December at 6.45pm.
Can I watch the ceremony?
Unfortunately not. But you can follow live updates from the blog above.
What is the Ballon d’Or?
The Ballon d’Or is an annual award presented by the magazine France Football to the best player of the year, as voted by sports journalists. The award has been running since 1956 making it one of the most prestigious individual accolades out there. Initially for European players, the honour went global in 2007.
Between 2010 and 2015 it was merged with Fifa’s own World Player of the Year award. That agreement ended in 2016, however, with the governing body reintroducing its own accolade once again – ‘The Best’ Fifa Men’s Player.
Who is the favourite?
Ronaldo is once again the favourite to claim the award, having notably helped lead Real Madrid to a historic Champions League title earlier this year. Messi follows in second with the usual suspects also among the mix.
The full shortlist:
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Karim Benzema, Leonardo Bonucci, Gianluigi Buffon, Edinson Cavani, Philippe Coutinho, Kevin De Bruyne, David de Gea, Paulo Dybala, Edin Dzeko, Radamel Falcao, Antoine Griezmann, Eden Hazard, Mats Hummels, Isco, Harry Kane, N'Golo Kante, Toni Kroos, Robert Lewandowski, Sadio Mane, Marcelo, Kylian Mbappe, Dries Mertens, Lionel Messi, Luka Modric, Neymar, Jan Oblak, Sergio Ramos, Cristiano Ronaldo, Luis Suarez.
We now know the following players will be in the top 10:
- Gigi Buffon
- Cristiano Ronaldo
- Harry Kane
- N'Golo Kante
- Robert Lewandowski
- Kylian Mbappe
- Luka Modric
- Lionel Messi
- Neymar
- Sergio Ramos
The big question now is: what order will they rank in?
Zidane: Ronaldo deserves fifth Ballon d'Or
Cristiano Ronaldo is expected to be confirmed as this year's Ballon d'Or winner in about an hour's time and his manager at Real Madrid, Zinedine Zidane, reckons the Portuguese fully deserves to win the award for a fifth time.
"Ronaldo's human, just like us but he is very different at times. He has no limits, really," Zidane said last week.
"The fact that he's going to win his fifth Ballon d'Or explains that. It's just amazing.
"He deserves it as well. I'm sure Cristiano is going to win his fifth Ballon d'Or.
"It doesn't surprise me. He wants more and more. He has the ambition to win a sixth or a seventh."
Just six players remaining now. They are:
- Gigi Buffon
- Cristiano Ronaldo
- Luka Modric
- Lionel Messi
- Neymar
- Sergio Ramos
I'm going to stick my neck on the line and predict Sergio Ramos to be the next player to be revealed.
Sergio Ramos ranks sixth
Called it.
Real Madrid and Spain defender Sergio Ramos narrowly misses out on the top five.
Just four players remaining now. You have to think it's a toss-up between Neymar and Gigi Buffon for third, with Lionel Messi finishing second and Cristiano Ronaldo topping the vote.
That's my prediction, anyway.
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