Cristiano Ronaldo achieves worst Ballon d’Or ranking in last 18 years
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Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo ranks 20th in the 2022 Ballon d’Or, which is one of his all-time lowest finishes at the illustrious awards ceremony. The five-time champion had an uneventful 2021/22 season during his return to Manchester United, scoring 24 goals across all competitions but failing to lead the squad to a championship.
Instead, Ronaldo’s and the rest of the team’s performances were frequently questioned as United finished sixth in the Premier League with their lowest points total in the league.
The 37-year-old garnered 18 nominations, placed 20th, ahead of players like Harry Kane (21st), Bernardo Silva (22nd), and Joshua Kimmich (25th), and matched his 2005 finish, when he tied for 20th with Jamie Carragher of Liverpool. In the current campaign, Ronaldo has only been able to score twice in all competitions, the most recent of which was his 700th club career goal against Everton.
He was nominated for the award for the 18th time, maintaining his position in the rankings despite finishing in a dismal sixth place the previous year. Rival Lionel Messi, meanwhile, was left off of the final shortlist. When he placed second in 2018 and third in 2019, Ronaldo came the closest to winning a sixth Ballon d’Or; the last time he didn’t make the final shortlist was in 2003.
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Cristiano Ronaldo’s unlucky streak continues
Manchester United were held to a 0-0 draw at Old Trafford by Newcastle United, despite two goals from Cristiano Ronaldo. In an entertaining first half, Joelinton hit the crossbar twice with headers in the space of a few seconds, and Callum Wilson had a strong penalty shout when he was tripped by Raphael Varane.
Erik ten Hag’s side eventually found their rhythm after starting Ronaldo, Jadon Sancho, and Fred, and Antony forced Nick Pope into a fine save. In a bizarre start to the second half, Ronaldo had two goals disallowed in the space of a minute. For the first incident, the Portuguese forward was correctly ruled offside.
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He was then penalized for stealing the ball from Nick Pope after a Magpies free-kick and putting it into an empty net, but the referee ruled the ball was still dead. Ten Hag’s feelings toward the officials did not improve after Sancho was denied a penalty after appearing to be fouled by Sean Longstaff.
For the final 20 minutes, Marcus Rashford came on for Ronaldo and missed a sitter in stoppage time with a header from close range, while Eddie Howe brought on Joe Willock, Matt Targett, and Chris Wood but they failed to produce a goal.
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Ujan Chakraborty
(1240 Articles Published)