Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi B.O.A.T. Poll: Ronaldo’s 2008 Season Leads All-Time Ballon d’Or Vote With 62%

Cristiano Ronaldo has opened a commanding lead over Lionel Messi in the first Ballon d’Or of All Time fan vote, with his 2008 season at Manchester United holding 62% of the ballots less than a week before voting closes.

The Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi B.O.A.T. poll has revived the biggest argument in football just days before the 2026 Ballon d’Or ceremony. Messi’s best single season, 2012, sits a distant second on 13%, according to figures reported on Monday, October 19.

What is the Ballon d’Or of All Time vote?

The Ballon d’Or of All Time, shortened to B.O.A.T., asks fans one question: which Ballon d’Or-winning season was the greatest ever? The vote runs on the official Ballon d’Or platform, and the ballot is not made up of players but of individual winning years.

Only the ten players who have won the award at least twice are on it. Besides Ronaldo and Messi, the field includes Ronaldo Nazário, Marco van Basten, Michel Platini, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Kevin Keegan, Franz Beckenbauer, Johan Cruyff and Alfredo Di Stéfano.

That format works against Messi in an unusual way. His eight trophies split his support across eight separate entries, while Ronaldo’s one standout year soaks up most of his own fans’ votes.

B.O.A.T. poll standings: who is leading?

Here is the top of the table as reported on October 19:

Every other season is reported at around 1% or below. Ronaldo’s 2013 and 2014 awards sit at about 1% each, and so do several of Messi’s, including 2009, 2011, 2015 and 2019.

Add up Ronaldo’s five winning seasons using those rounded numbers and you get roughly 73%. Messi’s eight come to about 26%. Those are my own sums from rounded figures, not an official total, but they show how lopsided the vote has been.

Why Ronaldo’s 2008 season is winning

Fans are rewarding a year with a very clean story. In 2007-08, Ronaldo scored 42 goals in all competitions for Manchester United, 31 of them in the Premier League, which earned him the European Golden Shoe. United won the league and the Champions League, and he collected his first Ballon d’Or on the back of it.

Messi’s case rests on different things. His 2012 calendar year produced a record 91 goals for Barcelona and Argentina, a number few expected to see broken. His 2023 award came after leading Argentina to the World Cup.

The catch: this is a paid vote

Before anyone declares the argument settled, the voting rules matter. Each vote reportedly costs €1, and fans can vote as many times as they like, including repeatedly for the same season. Everyone who votes also enters a draw for two tickets to this year’s ceremony and a photo with the trophy.

So the percentages measure how much fan bases are willing to spend, not the verdict of a neutral jury. Ronaldo’s supporters are famously organised and loud online, which helps explain the gap. The paid format has also set off its own rows between rival fanbases on social media.

How this compares with other polls

Different surveys have produced different winners over the years, depending on who was asked.

Context matters here. The YouGov survey was taken weeks after Messi won the World Cup, so recency probably helped him. The Athletic result is the interesting one, because the same group of players split their answers depending on the question.

The timing could hardly be more awkward

The vote closes at midnight Paris time on Tuesday, October 27, a day after the 70th Ballon d’Or ceremony. That gala takes place on Monday, October 26 at the London Palladium, the first time it has been held outside Paris. Kick-off is 8pm GMT, which is 9pm in Nigeria, and DAZN will stream it free in about 200 markets.

Ronaldo will not be in the room as a nominee. He was left off the 30-man men’s list despite helping Al-Nassr win the Saudi Pro League, a decision that angered his supporters. Messi, 39, was nominated for the 17th time, one short of Ronaldo’s record 18, after 75 goal contributions in 49 games for Inter Miami and Argentina, who reached the World Cup final. Harry Kane, Lamine Yamal and Kylian Mbappé are among the leading contenders for the main prize.

With a week of voting to go, a 49-point gap makes a late Messi surge look very unlikely. Whatever the final numbers show, the vote will be read as a measure of fan passion, and Messi still owns the bigger trophy cabinet. The final standings are expected soon after voting closes.