2008 Ballon d'Or

The 2008 Ballon d'Or, given to the best football player in the world as judged by an international panel of sports journalists, was awarded on 2 December 2008. Cristiano Ronaldo won the award, being his first of five. His win also began a 10-year dominance of the award between him and Lionel Messi — which eventually led to an intense rivalry between the two. Both players had won five Ballon d'Or awards before the dominance was ended in 2018 by Luka Modrić.