Cristiano Ronaldo wins fifth Ballon d'Or to pull level with Lionel Messi

Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo won the fifth Ballon d'Or of his career on Thursday, matching Lionel Messi as the most-awarded winner of one of the sport's top individual honours.
Ronaldo won the award for the second consecutive time after a year that saw him help Madrid to a third Champions League crown in four seasons and a first La Liga title in five years, as well as the FIFA Club World Cup.
The 32-year-old scored twice as Madrid beat Juventus 4-1 in the Champions League final in June, while also finishing top scorer in the competition with 12 goals.
He beat fellow finalists Messi and Neymar for the award. He previously won in 2008, 2013, 2014 and 2016, while Messi won the award four straight times from 2009-12 as well as in 2015.
A global panel of journalists vote for the award, which is organised by France Football magazine after a split from a partnership with FIFA that ran from 2010-15. In October, Ronaldo also won FIFA's top award, being named Best Men's Player for the second straight year.
Ronaldo accepted the award at a ceremony at the Eiffel Tower in Paris, where he said: "I'm very happy. To get this prize in Paris is a great experience. It's marvellous. It's a great moment of my career. It's something I wish I have every year.
"We had a marvellous year. I was the [top] goal scorer of the Champions League, so I want to thank my teammates. They were important for me. And also thanks everybody who helped me to be in great form during the season."
This award is the 10th Ballon d'Or won by a Real Madrid player, and only Barcelona have won more with 11. This was also the seventh Ballon d'Or award won by a Portuguese player, tying Germany and Netherlands for the most.
A day earlier, Ronaldo became the first player in history to score a goal in each of the six Champions League group games, when he netted Madrid's second against Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday night.
The goal took him to 114 career goals in 146 Champions League games -- another of his personal records, but his wider form has been a cause for concern this season.
Although he has scored nine goals in the Champions League, he has only managed two goals and two assists in 10 La Liga appearances, with Madrid eight points behind La Liga leaders Barcelona after 14 games.
But Ronaldo, who welcomed his fourth child last month, told L'Equipe last month that he's eager to win two more Ballons d'Or, saying: "I want seven children and as many Ballons d'Or. As long as I play, I'll have the ambition to win all I can.
"So, my dream is the fifth Ballon d'Or. And, next year, there will be another one to look for."
And at Thursday's award ceremony, he said: "For Christmas, I want a new baby. I'm kidding, it's a joke!"
Complete 2017 Ballon d'Or rankings with club/country:
1: Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid/Portugal)
2-3: Lionel Messi and Neymar, order not immediately announced
4: Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus/Italy)
5: Luka Modric (Real Madrid/Croatia)
6: Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid/Spain)
7: Kylian Mbappe (Monaco, Paris Saint-Germain/France)
8: N'Golo Kante (Chelsea/France)
9: Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich/Poland)
10: Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur/England)
11: Edinson Cavani (Paris Saint-Germain/Uruguay)
12: Isco (Real Madrid/Spain)
13: Luis Suarez (Barcelona/Uruguay)
14: Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City/Belgium)
15: Paulo Dybala (Juventus/Argentina)
16: Marcelo (Real Madrid/Brazil)
17: Toni Kroos (Real Madrid/Germany)
18: Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid/France)
19: Eden Hazard (Chelsea/Belgium)
20: David De Gea (Manchester United/Spain)
t-21: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Borussia Dortmund/Gabon)
t-21: Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus, AC Milan/Italy)
23: Sadio Mane (Liverpool/Senegal)
24: Radamel Falcao (Monaco/Colombia)
25: Karim Benzema (Real Madrid/France)
26: Jan Oblak (Atletico Madrid/Slovenia)
27: Mats Hummels (Bayern Munich/Germany)
28: Edin Dzeko (Roma/Bosnia and Herzegovina)
t-29: Philippe Coutinho (Liverpool/Brazil)
t-29: Dries Mertens (Napoli/Belgium)