Cristiano Ronaldo sold 2013 Ballon d'Or trophy to Israel's richest man

11 January 2023 , 08:29

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Cristiano Ronaldo sold 2013 Ballon d'Or trophy to Israel's richest man

Cristiano Ronaldo's 2013 Ballon d'Or was sold to Idan Ofer, Israel's richest man, after a charity auction in London in 2017.

Ronaldo won the top individual prize on five occasions, first in 2008 while still on the books of Manchester United and four times as a Real Madrid player. The 2013 contest was one of the more tightly-fought, with the Portugal star pipping Lionel Messi and Franck Ribery to top honours.

After the ceremony, Ronaldo opted to donate the award to charity. It was ultimately auctioned off to raise funds for the Make-A-Wish foundation, and Ofer had the winning bid of €600,000.

Cristiano Ronaldo won five Ballons d'Or in total during his time in Europe (AFP/Getty Images)

According to reports at the time from Marca, Ronaldo specifically asked for an extra replica of his 2013 award to be auctioned for charity, with ESPN reporting the real award remained on display at his museum in Madeira. The six-figure sum went straight to the children's charity, which grants wishes to children affected by critical illness.

A number of other items were also auctioned off at the event in London. These included a meet-and-greet with Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola and Manchester United's then-manager Jose Mourinho, which fetched €30,000.

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Ofer, who came up with the winning bid for Ronaldo's trophy, is worth a reported US$9.9bn (£8.1bn) according to Forbes. He has stakes in two football clubs, investing in Atletico Madrid later in 2017 and later taking over as majority owner of Portuguese side Famalicao.

Ronaldo himself was not in attendance at the auction. Instead it was the responsibility of Jorge Mendes, his agent at the time, to hand Ofer his prize.

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Cristiano Ronaldo won his second Ballon d'Or in 2013 (AFP/Getty Images)

The forward won the Ballon d'Or in 2013 after a season in which he scored 55 goals in as many games for Real Madrid but ended up empty-handed with Bayern Munich winning the Champions League and Barcelona romping to the title in Spain.

France winger Ribery was part of the Bayern team which conquered all before them, but ended up empty handed. After missing out but still making the podium, the former Marseille man shared his frustration.

"I'm not sad, but it hurts the heart," Ribery said. "Do not get me wrong, I am proud to have been there. I feel I deserved this title. There are so many politics."

Ronaldo would add his third Ballon d'Or a year later, after helping Real Madrid pip neighbours Atletico Madrid to Champions League glory. Further European titles in 2016 and 2017 were followed by a fourth and fifth gong, though club team-mate Luka Modric won out in 2018 after following Champions League glory against Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool with a run to the World Cup final in Croatia colours.

Tom Victor