HOW DID THEY VOTE? #BALLONDOR Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi snubbed each other in the voting for the 2014 Ballon d’Or for the second successive year. Ronaldo coasted to victory with 37.66 per cent of the vote – a total which topped the combined hauls of fellow nominees Messi and Bayern Munich stopper Manuel Neuer. The Real Madrid forward elected to name team-mate Sergio Ramos as his player of the year, ahead of Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema. Ramos’ late goal in the Champions League final against Atletico ensured extra time, with Real going onto to win 4-1 after the additional 30 minutes. Messi picked fellow Argentine Angel di Maria as his favourite player, with Barcelona club-mates Andres Iniesta and Javier Mascherano taking second and third respectively in his vote. Every national team coach, captain and a journalist from each FIFA nation are allowed to vote for their top three players, meaning Ronaldo and Messi could have their say as skippers of Portugal and Argentina respectively. *Unsurprisingly, the coaches of both nations avoided upsetting their talisman players. Portugal coach Santos Fernando snubbed Messi; Argentina boss Gerardo Martino handed the same treatment to Ronaldo. *England manager Roy Hodgson went one further by ignoring both players. Instead, he selected Mascherano, Philipp Lahm and Neuer as his one-two-three. Other selected votes: Wayne Rooney, England captain – Cristiano Ronaldo (5 points), Toni Kroos (3 points), Gareth Bale (1 point) Bastian Schweinsteiger, Germany captain – Manuel Neuer, Philipp Lahm, Thomas Mueller Robin van Persie, Netherlands captain – Arjen Robben, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Manuel Neuer Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Sweden captain – Lionel Messi, Manuel Neuer, Cristiano Ronaldo Dunga, Brazil manager – Neymar, Cristiano Ronaldo, Zlatan Ibrahimovic Joachim Loew, Germany manager – Manuel Neuer, Philipp Lahm, Bastian Schweinsteiger
Posted on: Tue, 13 Jan 2015 07:19:55 +0000
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