The 2023 Ballon d'Or is set to feature a crucial absence with Cristiano Ronaldo not included in the 30-player shortlist for the first time since 2003.
Ronaldo's 2022 move to Al Nassr has pushed him out of the reckoning for the award but his exemption from the wider list also highlights his incredible consistency in the last two decades.
Across two spells at Manchester United, alongside incredible stints at Real Madrid and Juventus, Ronaldo has remained as an ever-present star in the Ballon d'Or battle each year.
Despite his omission from the 2023 trophy, Ronaldo still boasts an impressive record in the award's history, alongside his old rival Lionel Messi.
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Ronaldo is the second most successful player in Ballon d'Or history with five titles won from 2008 to 2017 as Messi holds the overall record with seven awards. The Argentine is the favourite to pick up an eighth gong in 2023 though.
Four of Ronaldo's Ballon d'Or awards came during his time at Real Madrid but his first arrived in a sensational year at United in 2008.
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After finishing second to Kaka in 2007, Ronaldo won his first Ballon d'Or in 2008, as he established himself as a world star at Old Trafford.
However, he was to wait five years for his next award win, as Messi dominated the Ballon d'Or from 2009 to 2012, before Ronaldo won four in five years in Madrid, stretching from 2013 to 2017.
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