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.
It doesn't get much better than being congratulated by France's biggest landmark.
We're still waiting to find out who finished second and who finished third out of Lionel Messi and Neymar.
Common sense would suggest Messi will finish as runner-up to Ronaldo but we'll have to wait and see.
No idea what Mbappe is saying here but he's smiling so it's probably something complimentary, which is just lovely to see, isn't it?
Dead nice.
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