Football’s finest players battled it out to win the prestigious and historic prize, but no-one could pip the Real Madrid striker

Real Madrid superstar, Cristiano Ronaldo, who picked up his fifth Ballon d’Or trophy ahead of Lionel Messi and Neymar at the Eiffel Tower in France, says he’s still willing to win more Ballon d’Or awards.

And after being presented with the 2017 Ballon d’Or at the glitzy ceremony on Thursday, Ronaldo vowed to ‘let the fight continue’ between himself and Messi as they battle for future Ballon d’Ors.

‘I HOPE TO PLAY AT A HIGH LEVEL FOR A FEW MORE YEARS,’ RONALDO SAID WHEN ASKED ABOUT RIVAL MESSI. ‘LET’S HAVE THE FIGHT CONTINUE IN A GOOD WAY. HE WILL DO HIS BEST FOR HIS CLUB AND HIS NATIONAL TEAM.

‘AND I WILL DO MY BEST FOR REAL MADRID AND MY NATIONAL TEAM. SO LET’S SEE AT THE END OF THE DAY WHO IS BETTER AND SEE WHO AT THE END OF THE YEAR WHAT COLLECTIVE AWARDS WE WIN AND WHAT THE PEOPLE VOTED.’

‘OF COURSE, I FEEL HAPPY. IT’S A BIG MOMENT IN MY CAREER,’ RONALDO SAID. ‘IT’S SOMETHING I HOPE TO WIN EVERY YEAR. THANKS TO MY REAL MADRID TEAM-MATES. AND I WANT TO THANK THE REST OF THE PEOPLE WHO HELPED ME REACH THIS LEVEL.’

Here is the full list counting down from joint 29th to CR7.

29th: Coutinho/Mertens
28th: Dzeko
27th: Hummels
26th: Oblak
25th: Benzema
24th: Falcão
23rd: Mané
21st: Bonucci/Aubameyang
20th: De Gea
19th: Hazard
18th: Griezmann
17th: Kroos
16th: Marcelo
15th: Dybala
14th: KDB