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Dutch legend Johan Cruyff had once notably criticized the decision to award Cristiano Ronaldo the 2014 Ballon d'Or. The Portuguese legend won his third golden ball that year, following wins in 2008 and 2013.
Cristiano Ronaldo had an incredible 2013-14 season, winning the UEFA Champions League and the Copa del Rey with Real Madrid. The legendary forward recorded 59 goals and 20 assists for club and country across all competitions. He also won the European Golden Shoe and finished as top scorer in LaLiga (31 goals) and the Champions League (17 goals).
In a column in the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf dated January 2015, the late Johan Cruyff didn't consider Ronaldo the deserving winner of the Ballon d'Or in 2014. He wrote (via Bleacher Report):
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"It's absurd that for the second year in a row a player has been given the award who did not both play excellent and win the most trophies."
Cruyff notably considered Toni Kroos as a deserving winner in both 2013 and 2014. He continued:
"Back in 2013, Bayern Munich won every single trophy out there, yet Cristiano Ronaldo still won the award instead of a player like Toni Kroos or someone else from Bayern. In 2014, Kroos was a key player again for the team that won the World Cup, yet he was not even among the final three nominees."
"Ronaldo was completely anonymous at the World Cup. Let this be clear, I cannot take this Fifa award seriously anymore."
Despite his stellar club numbers, Ronaldo did not fair well in the 2014 World Cup. Portugal were eliminated in the group stage after ranking third, although the star forward recorded one goal and one assist.
Meanwhile, Toni Kroos won the World Cup with Germany. He also lifted the Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal, UEFA Super Cup, and FIFA Club World Cup with Bayern Munich in the 2013-14 season. Kroos ranked ninth in the Ballon d'Or rankings for 2014.
"I think I deserve it" - When Cristiano Ronaldo expressed his desire to win more Ballon d'Or awards than Lionel Messi
In a 2019 interview with Piers Morgan, Cristiano Ronaldo famously revealed he would like to win more Ballons d'Or than his archrival Lionel Messi. At the time of his comments, both Messi and Ronaldo had five golden balls to their name. He said (via BBC):
"Messi's in the history of football - but I think I have to have six or seven or eight to be above him. I'd love it, I think I deserve it."
Despite Ronaldo's ambitions, Lionel Messi won his sixth Ballon d'Or in 2019. The Portuguese legend came third in the rankings behind Messi and Virgil Van Dijk. The Argentine went on to win two more in 2021 and 2023, holding a record eight golden balls to his name.
Meanwhile, Cristiano Ronaldo's fifth Ballon d'Or came in 2017. He has not ranked within the top three of the award since then. However, he still holds the highest number of Ballon d'Or nominations in history with 18 to his name.
