FIFA President Sepp Blatter (right) congratulates Ronaldo on winning the award
Ronaldo shows his emotions after beating Lionel Messi and Manuel Neuer to the coveted gong
Ronaldo (right) celebrates with his son Cristiano Jr on stage after winning the FIFA Ballon d'Or 2014
The maverick forward (left) poses with his award with FIFA Women's Player of the Year Nadine Kessler
Ronaldo was looking to win the award for a second successive year and the third-time in his career
Ronaldo (left) enjoys a selfie with Marta before the FIFA Ballon d'Or Gala on Monday evening
The Portugal superstar shakes hands with UEFA President Michel Platini before the gala
The 29-year-old played an integral role as Real Madrid won the Champions League last season
Ronaldo scored a staggering 56 goals in 51 appearances for Real as they won four trophies in 2014
Ronaldo
has now been voted world footballer of the year three times, one short
of four-time winner Messi, and stressed his determination to win more
awards in the years to come.
'I
can see my mother, my family. I would like to thank all those who voted
for me. My coach, my fellow player, the President of my club,' he said
after collecting the coveted gong from Thierry Henry.
'It's
been an unforgettable year. To win this trophy, a trophy of this kind,
is something unique and all I can say is I want to continue working as I
have so far, trying to go on to more titles - individual and as a team -
for my mother, my father who is up there looking at there any my son.
'I
want to get better as the days go by. I want to say to all the
Portuguese that I never thought I could win this trophy on three
different occasions.
'Of
course it is something that is always with me, I want to become one of
the greatest players of all time, and this requires a lot effort so I
would like to thank you for all this evening. BOOM!'
Ronaldo
was a clear winner with 37.66 per cent of total votes cast by a panel
made up of captains, coaches and media members from all FIFA affiliate
associations.
Messi took second with 15.76 per cent, just ahead of Neuer on 15.72.
England
manager Roy Hodgson left both Ronaldo and Messi out of his own top
three, voting instead for Argentina's Javier Mascherano ahead of Germany
pair Philipp Lahm and Neuer.
Messi (right), who finished second, arrived on to the red carpet with his partner Antonella Roccuzzo
The diminutive superstar is mobbed by fans on the carpet as he signs autographs
Messi (centre right) captained Argentina to the World Cup final where they lost to Germany after extra-time
The 27-year-old (centre) scored 50 goals in 52 appearances for Barcelona last season
Earlier,
Messi responded to continuing transfer rumours by stressing he would
like to end his career at Barcelona - but conceded that outcome was far
from certain.
Having
denounced talk of a move to the Barclays Premier League as 'lies'
earlier this week, Messi added on Monday: 'I'm not sure where I'm going
to be next year.
'I've
always said I would like to finish my career at Barcelona... nobody
knows what the future holds, much less so in the case of the football
world, where so many things can change overnight.'
Third-placed Neuer (left) signs autographs on the red carpet ahead of the Ballon d'Or Gala on Monday
Neuer (left) was a mainstay in the Bayern team that won the Bundesliga and DFB Pokal Cup last season
The 28-year-old's brilliant year was completed by helping Germany to win the World Cup last summer
The trio were all included in the FIFPro World Team of the Year which is selected by their peers
