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Cristiano Ronaldo beats Lionel Messi and Neymar to win the 2017 Ballon d’Or

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Cristiano Ronaldo beats Lionel Messi and Neymar to win the 2017 Ballon d’Or — Cristiano Ronaldo has won the Ballon d’Or for a fifth time (Getty)

Cristiano Ronaldo has won the 2017 Ballon d’Or ahead of rival Lionel Messi.

The Real Madrid was widely expected to pick up the prestigious award and duly did at a ceremony at the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

Barcelona forward Messi came second in the vote with Paris St Germain striker Neymar third.

The win for Ronaldo takes his total Ballon d’Or wins to five – level with Messi. The two have shared the award since Kaka won it in 2007.

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It was little surprise that Ronaldo won it after spearheading Real Madrid to a Champions League and La Liga double over the 2016/17 season.

During the course of the calendar year the Portugal international – who won the award last year – has scored 49 goals in 56 appearances. Messi’s record is actually better – 52 in 61 – however the Argentine’s only silverware was the Copa del Rey.

Ballon d'Or ranking

1: Cristiano Ronaldo
2: Lionel Messi
3: Neymar
4: Gianluigi Buffon
5: Luka Modric
6: Sergio Ramos
7: Kylian Mbappé
8: N’Golo Kanté
9: Robert Lewandowski
10: Harry Kane
11: Edinson Cavani
12: Isco
13: Luis Suarez
14: Kevin De Bruyne
15: Paulo Dybala
16: Marcelo
17: Toni Kroos
18: Antoine Griezmann
19: Eden Hazard
20: David De Gea
21: Leonardo Bonucci and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
23: Sadio Mané
24: Radamel Falcao
25: Karim Benzema
26: Jan Oblak
27: Mats Hummels
28: Edin Dzeko
29: Dries Mertens and Philippe Coutinho.

The highest ranked Premier League player was Chelsea midfielder N’Golo Kante, with Tottenham’s Harry Kane managing to come 10th.

Serie A had one player in the top 10, with Gianluigi Buffon coming fourth. There was also just one representative from the Bundesliga, with Robert Lewandowski in ninth taking that honour.

Teenage sensation Kylian Mbappe was seventh, behind Real Madrid duo Sergio Ramos and Luka Modric. Their team-mate Toni Kroos was surprisingly low at 17.

More: Real Madrid

The latest Ballon d’Or saw the award split from its association with FIFA, with a collection of journalists from around the world voting for their winner from a 30-man shortlist.

MORE: N’Golo Kante beats Eden Hazard and David de Gea in Ballon d’Or 2017 voting

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