Ronaldo's 2008 voted greatest Ballon d'Or season ever, ahead of Messi's 2012, in France Football's BOAT award

Cristiano Ronaldo's 2008 season at Manchester United has been voted the greatest Ballon d'Or-winning year of all time, beating Lionel Messi's 2012 in France Football's first "B.O.A.T." (Ballon d'Or of All Time) award. The result was announced this week, Goal reported, and "Cristiano Ronaldo" was among the top searches in Pakistan on Thursday 29 October.

What the B.O.A.T. award is

France Football, the magazine that runs the Ballon d'Or, launched the award after its most recent gala to settle which single Ballon d'Or-winning season was the best ever. The vote was not a panel of journalists, as the real Ballon d'Or is, but France Football's online readers.

• Nominees: seasons of players who won more than one Ballon d'Or: Ronaldo and Messi, plus Johan Cruyff, Michel Platini, Marco van Basten, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Kevin Keegan, Franz Beckenbauer, Alfredo Di Stefano and the Brazilian Ronaldo Nazario.
• Cost to vote: one euro per vote (about Rs 308), with every voter entered in a draw for two tickets to the 2027 Ballon d'Or ceremony.
• Multiple votes allowed: more than 5,000 people voted more than once, according to Goal.

The result

• 1st: Cristiano Ronaldo, 2008. His first Ballon d'Or, won in the season Manchester United took the Premier League and the Champions League.
• 2nd: Lionel Messi, 2012, the year he scored 91 goals for Barcelona and Argentina, a calendar-year record.
• Ronaldo's and Messi's seasons filled the top 12 places between them.
• 13th: Ronaldo Nazario, 2002, the highest of the older greats.

Goal did not publish vote shares or totals.

Why it is not the final word

A paid public vote that lets the same person vote again and again measures the size and devotion of a fan base as much as the football. The fact that the two modern stars took all of the top 12 places, ahead of Cruyff, Platini and Van Basten, says as much about who voted as about what happened on the pitch. Messi's 2012 has the bigger numbers; Ronaldo's 2008 has the double of league and Champions League.

Ronaldo now

At 41, Ronaldo is still playing for Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia, where he is chasing 1,000 career goals; he scored number 981 earlier this month (our report). He is serving a 30-day ban from Portugal's federation and is set to return against Denmark on 14 November (our report).