Ballon d'Or 2016: Winner 'leaked' with Cristiano Ronaldo to beat Lionel Messi to award
The Real Madrid and Portugal forward won the Champions League at club level and captained Portugal to success at the Euros
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Cristiano Ronaldo will win his fourth Ballon d’Or when the award’s latest winner is announced on Monday, according to reports in Spain.
The Real Madrid and Portugal forward has enjoyed a trophy-laden year on the pitch, winning the Champions League at club level and captaining his country to European Championships success.
According to Mundo Deportivo, Ronaldo is certain to see off competition from Barcelona’s Lionel Messi and will be confirmed as the winner by France Football, the award’s founders.
The award will take Ronaldo to within one of Messi’s five Ballon d’Ors, with the pair having dominated competition for the prize since 2008.
Ronaldo won the award that year, having lifted the Premier League and Champions League with Manchester United, but was made to wait until 2013 to claim his second.
Reports of his success in this year’s competition follow a difficult few days for the 31-year-old forward off the pitch.
On Saturday, Ronaldo was alleged to have directed at least €150 million through the British Virgin Islands in order to avoid paying income tax.
The alleged tax avoidance was reported by several newspapers across Europe who are working in conjunction with the Football Leaks group.
The Gestifute agency, which represents Ronaldo and Jose Mourinho, who was also implicated, has denied all wrongdoing by its clients.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments