Following his cryptic message: Ronaldo breaks his silence after the historic Ballon d'Or
From 2008 to forever: the Portuguese federation celebrates Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo has had his say after being crowned the greatest player in history by France Football magazine, with the Al-Nassr captain picking up their Ballon d'Or honour.
Ronaldo wrote on his X account: "Football belongs to the fans.. thank you to all the supporters around the world."
The Portuguese star continued: "The Ballon d'Or for the greatest player in history is your award too."
According to ESPN, the Portuguese Football Federation congratulated Ronaldo after his victory in the award for the greatest player in history.
A public online fan vote ran for a full month, and Ronaldo narrowly edged out Lionel Messi to claim the prize.
The Portuguese Football Federation wrote on X: "From 2008 to forever. The greatest player to win the Ballon d'Or in history is Portuguese. Congratulations, captain."
Ronaldo's accolade recognised his 2007-2008 season with Manchester United, when he fired the team to the Premier League and Champions League titles with 42 goals in all competitions. That haul earned him the first Ballon d'Or of his career.
Manchester United and Real Madrid, two of Ronaldo's former clubs, also celebrated his latest honour.
Five Ballons d'Or now sit on the veteran Portugal striker's mantelpiece, four of them won at Real Madrid in 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2017.
Marca reported that all eyes turned to Ronaldo's social media accounts once the online vote had been settled.
Rather than address the competition directly or post lengthy statements, Ronaldo did things his way. He shared a set of photos on Instagram documenting his daily routine of work and training, captioned with a single word: "Preparing."
That brief message was enough to spark thousands of reactions and comments from his fans, who read the post as a window into his competitive mentality. The awards and honours keep mounting, yet his focus stays fixed on training and work.
Images of the player grafting with maximum strength and enthusiasm spread within minutes. Only then did he release his message on X, speaking openly about being crowned winner of the Ballon d'Or for best player.
