Ronaldo lands European prize

World Cup hero
The Real Madrid CF forward, who registered twice in Brazil's 2-0 FIFA World Cup final victory over Germany to finish as the tournament's top scorer, became one of only eight players to win the prestigious Ballon d'Or for a second time.

International rivalry
The 26-year-old beat Roberto Carlos, his team-mate for club and country, and FC Bayern München's German international goalkeeper Oliver Kahn to the award, with Madrid's Zinedine Zidane and Bayern's Michael Ballack further down the roll of honour.

Esteemed company
Ronaldo, a scorer when Madrid beat Paraguayan side Club Olimpia to lift the European/South American Cup two weeks ago, joined Madrid legend Alfredo Di Stefano, Franz Beckenbauer, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and Kevin Keegan as a two-time winner of the Golden Ball.

Limited opportunities
Also the recipient in 1997, he made just 17 top-flight appearances for Internazionale FC and Madrid over the calendar year, but saved his best for the World Cup where he scored eight times. Ronaldo, whose other European clubs include PSV Eindhoven and FC Barcelona, joined Madrid for €47m in September.

Voting
1 Ronaldo (Internazionale FC & Real Madrid CF) 171 points
2 Roberto Carlos (Real Madrid CF) 145
3 Oliver Kahn (FC Bayern München) 114
4 Zinedine Zidane (Real Madrid CF) 78
5 Michael Ballack (Bayer 04 Leverkusen & FC Bayern München) 67
6 Thierry Henry (Arsenal FC) 54
7 Raúl González (Real Madrid CF) 38
8 Rivaldo (FC Barcelona & Internazionale FC) 29
9 Yildiray Bastürk (Bayer 04 Leverkusen) 13
10 Alessandro Del Pierro (Juventus FC) 12