For the third time ever and the second in as many years, Cristiano Ronaldo has won the most prestigious individual award in soccer.
Ronaldo was named the winner of the 2014 Ballon D'Or on Monday at FIFA's annual gala in Zurich, beating FC Barcelona forward Lionel Messi and Bayern Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer for the award. Former New York Red Bulls legend Thierry Henry presented him with the award.
The Real Madrid winger – who was also named to the FIFA FIFPro World XI – claimed the honors after helping the Spanish club win the UEFA Champions League last May and suiting up for Portugal at the World Cup in the summer.
The 29-year-old Ronaldo, who previously won the Ballon D'Or in 2008 and 2013, was recenty linked with a possible move to MLS in 2018 when his contract at Real Madrid is set to expire.
In other awards handed out on Monday, Germany midfielder Nadine Kessler won her first-ever FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year award, while German coaches Joachim Low (Germany) and Ralf Kellermann (Wolfsburg) took the FIFA Men's and Women's World Coach of the Year awards, respectively.
Ronaldo's Real Madrid teammate, James Rodriguez, claimed the FIFA Puskas Award for the best goal of the year for his volley strike for Colombia at the 2014 World Cup.
