Cristiano Ronaldo won his first Ballon d'Or on 2 December 2008, confirming his rise from gifted winger to the world's most decisive footballer. The award, presented by France Football in Paris, followed a season in which he scored 42 goals and carried Manchester United to a Premier League and Champions League double.
A landslide victory in Paris
The voting was a procession. Ronaldo collected 446 points from a panel of 96 journalists, finishing well clear of Barcelona's Lionel Messi on 281 and Liverpool striker Fernando Torres on 179. Seventy-seven writers named him their first choice, making the margin slightly wider than the one Kaká managed a year earlier.
Suspense built one name at a time
Inside the Paris gala, the result was revealed in reverse order. Torres was announced third, then Messi second, leaving the room in little doubt before Ronaldo's name was read. The 23-year-old walked up as the fourth Manchester United player ever to claim the honour, and the first Portuguese winner since Luís Figo.
"It is one of the most beautiful days of my life," Ronaldo told reporters afterwards. "To gain this trophy is something I dreamed of as a child."
Forty-two goals that built a double
The ballot was settled long before the ceremony. Across 49 appearances, Ronaldo averaged a goal or assist every 83 minutes, powering United to the Premier League title and a Champions League final meeting with Chelsea in Moscow. He opened the scoring there with a towering header, and though he later missed a penalty in the shootout, United won it on penalties.
His victory launched a decade-long grip on the award, shared only with Messi for the next ten years. That evening in Paris, though, still belonged to the boy from Madeira who had just completed a dream he held since childhood.
Second no longer.
