Ronaldo accepts record-tying fifth Ballon d'Or award halfway up the Eiffel Tower (video)

Joey Gulino
Cristiano Ronaldo accepted his fifth world player of the year trophy halfway up the Eiffel Tower. (The Telegraph)
Cristiano Ronaldo accepted his fifth world player of the year trophy halfway up the Eiffel Tower. (The Telegraph)

It’s been obvious for awhile now that Cristiano Ronaldo was going to win his fifth Ballon d’Or trophy as world player of the year.

Turns out, he still had a surprise up his sleeve.

The Real Madrid megastar accepted the award from halfway up the Eiffel Tower on Thursday during a glitzy ceremony in Paris:

Past winners, such as the Brazilian Ronaldo and former AC Milan star Kaka, were also present for the evening’s festivities, which took place inside the Eiffel Tower.

This marks the fifth Ballon d’Or for Ronaldo, bringing him into a tie with Barcelona’s Lionel Messi for most all-time. The award has been presented annually by France Football magazine since 1956, and Messi and Ronaldo have split the last 10. Furthermore, they’ve finished 1-2 in every year of the past decade except 2010.

Messi finished second this year, while Paris Saint-Germain attacker Neymar was third. Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon and Real Madrid playmaker Luka Modric rounded out the top five.

But there was no peer for Ronaldo, who led the way as Real Madrid won La Liga and became the first team in the Champions League era to win the competition in consecutive years.

He even received a special congratulations from the Eiffel Tower itself:

Joey Gulino is the editor of FC Yahoo and moonlights as a writer. Follow him on Twitter at @JGulinoYahoo.