Where are they now? Every player Cristiano Ronaldo voted for in the FIFA Best Player award
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have dominated individual awards across this generation and we’ve decided to look at who Ronaldo voted for across the first six years of FIFA’s Best Player award.
Both Ronaldo and Messi dominated the award, winning it a few times each, but they were far kinder with their voting towards each other as we moved closer to 2020.
With that in mind, here are the 11 players Ronaldo voted for from 2016 to 2021.
Gareth Bale
A trusted teammate and a fantastic player in his own right, Bale was instrumental to the ‘three-peat’ in the UEFA Champions League from 2015-2017 and Ronaldo voted for him in 2016 to win the award.
While Sergio Ramos was the Man of the Match in the final, it was one Bale’s most effective games and he could have easily won the award – and Madrid wouldn’t have won the final without him.
Plus, he essentially carried Wales on his back to the European Championships Semi-Finals but the top three of that year consisted of Ronaldo, Messi and Antoine Griezmann.
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Luka Modric
Having voted for Modric in 2016, 2017 and 2018, it was clear how much he valued his teammate, who was key at pulling the strings in midfield with Toni Kroos across their peak years of success.
He only featured in the top three in 2018 when he won the award which was justified after winning four trophies at club level and the Golden Ball at the World Cup as Croatia reached the final. He later won the Ballon d’Or as well.
Sergio Ramos
One of Madrid’s most important players, Ramos formed the bedrock of their defence and was a leader at the back. Ronaldo respected this and chose to vote for him in both 2016 and 2017.
As mentioned, he was the Man of the Match in the Champions League final in 2016.
He didn’t feature in the top three but he was in the FIFA World 11 and UEFA Team of the Year in both years and was at the top level for the majority of the 2010s.
Marcelo
A one-time feature, Marcelo was voted for by Ronaldo in 2017.
He was a key figure in Madrid’s triumphs, popping up with assists when needed and the odd goal but he was key in their build-up and ability to break quickly.
He featured in the UEFA Team of the Year and FIFA World 11 in 2017 – which was one of six appearances and he was regarded as the best in his position across the 2010s by many and had good chemistry with Ronaldo.
Raphael Varane
In 2018, Varane hit his peak, leading France to the World Cup with his imperious defensive performances.
Ronaldo voted for him as he was key in their European Cup win to record three Champions League triumphs in a row which he rounded off with the international success.
Having played with Ronaldo from near the start of his Madrid career, the pair were synonymous with the club’s successes.
Varane featured in the World Cup Team of the Tournament, the FIFA World XI and UEFA Team of the Year – in what were his only first and last appearances in those dream teams.
Antoine Griezmann
Selected in the same year as Varane, Griezmann was arguably the best player outside of Real Madrid and Barcelona’s squads in La Liga and the experienced leader for France.
His goals were key in France winning the World Cup final and this was the only year Ronaldo voted for him.
He originally finished third in 2016 when he led his country to the final of Euro 2016 but he wasn’t in the top three in 2018, with Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah taking that final spot with Ronaldo and Modric.
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Mathias De Ligt
Given he was the captain and young, fearless leader of the Ajax side which reached the Champions League semi-finals in 2019, it was clear to see why Ronaldo chose him but it was still an outside pick.
Ronaldo finished third himself that year, behind Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk and Messi – and it is likely he chose De Ligt to avoid the direct competition in Van Dijk.
Plus, he saw the class of De Ligt up close having lost in the Champions League quarter-finals against his Ajax side while playing for Juventus.
Frenkie De Jong
Similar to De Ligt, the Dutch midfielder was arguably the standout performer for Ajax that season in the heart of midfield and had the rare achievement of being voted for by both Messi and Ronaldo in 2019.
Frenkie De Jong didn’t finish in the top three but he was the Player of the Year in the Eredivisie and won the double under Erik Ten Hag and later signed for Barcelona.
Kylian Mbappe
Ronaldo voted for Mbappe three years in a row in 2019, 2020 and 2021, perhaps giving him his blessing as the next global football superstar.
Mbappe went on a goalscoring rampage across these years for Paris Saint-Germain but he didn’t feature in the top three until 2022 and 2023.
Most of his accolades came after Ronaldo’s final vote for him. Although, he did feature in the World XI for the first time in 2019.
His best finish remains second in 2022 behind Messi.
Robert Lewandowski
Given his output across 2020 and 2021, it was almost impossible to ignore Lewandowski who was in his prime across these two years.
Ronaldo voted for him in both years as he won the award ahead of him and Messi in 2020 and before beating Messi and Salah in the following year.
He did deserve a Ballon d’Or award in 2020 but it was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic but the FIFA award is symbolic of that failure to award him what he deserved.
Lionel Messi
Last, but not least, his great rival Messi.
Whereas Messi only voted for him once in 2019, Ronaldo included the Argentinian in both his 2020 and 2021 votes.
He finished third in 2020, second in 2021 and finally claimed the award in 2022 after his World Cup triumph before going on to repeat that success a year later to make three wins (2019, 2022 and 2023) to Ronaldo’s two.