It has been revealed that Cristiano Ronaldo failed to receive any votes as his former Real Madrid teammate Karim Benzema stormed to victory at the recent Ballon d'Or ceremony.
Ronaldo, who has endured a rotten week with Manchester United after storming off during the midweek win over Tottenham, has previously won the prestigious award on five separate occasions. Only Lionel Messi (seven) has won the award more than Ronaldo - but the Portuguese superstar has not lifted the illustrious trophy since 2017.
The 37-year-old finished 20th in this year's vote, which was won emphatically by Benzema. Former Liverpool striker Sadio Mane finished in second spot, but he was still some way behind Benzema, who notched up 300 more points than the Senegalese striker.
While it was a landslide for Benzema, it was a completely different story for Ronaldo, who has stayed away from the ceremony in recent years.
His appearance at the ceremony, which was held in Paris, on Monday night marked the first time Ronaldo had attended the event since he last lifted the award back in 2017. It is believed that his return after a five year absence was to support his friend, Benzema, who was the heavy favourite to win the award. The duo played together for nine years at Real Madrid before Ronaldo quit the Bernabeu to join Juventus.
Benzema enjoyed one of his finest ever seasons with Los Blancos last year to claim the coveted award; he netted 44 goals including 15 in the Champions League as Real clinched an unprecedented 14th European crown.
Join the debate! What did you make of the Ballon d'Or voting results? Let us know here.
The 34-year-old is now only behind Ronaldo in the list of Real Madrid's all-time leading goalscorers following his prolific campaign.
And after winning the prestigious award for the first time, Benzema admitted that he had finally achieved a lifelong dream. The French striker said: "It has been my best season because, in the end, I have won the Ballon d'Or. I have been dreaming of it since I was a child. It has been the best season of my life.
"I have fulfilled the three dreams I had in my life: buying a house for my mother, signing for Real Madrid because it is the best club in the world and the third is the Ballon d'Or. I am very proud of my work."
Ballon d'Or voting results: 1: Karim Benzema - 549 pts, 2: Sadio Mané - 193, 3: Kevin de Bruyne - 175, 4: Robert Lewandowski - 170, 5: Mo Salah - 116, 6: Kylian Mbappé - 85, 7: Thibaut Courtois - 82, 8: Vinicius Jr - 61, 9: Luka Modric - 20, 10: Erling Haaland - 18
