Cristiano Ronaldo capped a brilliant year by being crowned winner of the Ballon d’Or for a fourth time in Paris on Monday night.
The Portugal and Real Madrid forward topped the poll of 173 journalists worldwide to take home France Football magazine’s coveted award.
In doing so he beat out the likes of Antoine Griezmann, Luis Suarez and perennial rival Lionel Messi.
Ronaldo, who moves within one of Messi’s record of five Ballon d’Or, was the overwhelming favourite after a stellar 12 months in which he won Euro 2016, the Champions League and the UEFA Super Cup.
The 31-year-old, who was not there to collect the award in person due to Real Madrid’s Club World Cup commitments, described his latest triumph as ‘a dream come true.’
‘I never imagined winning this trophy four times,’ he added. ‘I’m really happy and fulfilled.
‘When it’s the first time, the emotion is always special. But I I feel today like I did in 2008.’
Ronaldo has so far scored 48 goals in 52 games for club and country during 2016 but it was his success in the two big tournaments of the year that ultimately saw him reclaim the prize from Messi.
He played a crucial role as Real beat city rivals Atletico Madrid in May to become European champions for a record-extending 11th time.
Then two months later, Portugal triumphed at Euro 2016 in France to claim a major trophy for the first time – despite losing their talisman to injury early on in the final.
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