The winner of the Ballon d'Or has been reportedly leaked. With frontrunners being Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, who has won the award?
According to Daily Mail, Cristiano Ronaldo has won his fourth Ballon d'Or, beating Lionel Messi, Antoine Griezmann and Luis Suarez. The result has been already told to the three nominees.
Daily Mail stated that the news was spoiled by a Spanish journalist, Francesc Aguilar, in the newspaper Mundo Deportivio.
The Spanish newspaper also reported that interviews with the winners will take place on Thursday. These interviews will be aired at the award ceremony the following Monday.
As per Hollywood Life, if this news is indeed true then this will be Ronaldo's fourth Ballon D'Or. He is just one short of Messi's five Ballon D'Or win.
Messi won the inaugural Ballon d'Or in 2010, and then retained the title twice, Cristiano then won in 2013 and 2014. Last year Messi again took the title from Ronaldo. Seems like Ronaldo is going to return the favor this year.
Hollywood Life stated that the leak may not have come as a major shock to anyone. Almost every fan was rooting for the Real Madrid star to win the title.
Ronaldo's career has been amazing this year as he helped Real Madrid to win the 11th UEFA Champions League title, against Atlético Madrid. Even after suffering an injury, Ronaldo helped Portugal beat France in the Euro 2016 final.
Meanwhile, Independent announced that Ronaldo has been suspected of directing €150 million through the British Virgin Islands to avoid his income tax.
Many European newspapers which are associated with the Football Leaks group have reported this alleged accusation against the footballer. However, representative of Ronaldo, the Gestifute agency, has denied any such accusations and claimed that his client is clean.
FIFA Ballon D'or 2016 award ceremony will be taking place on Monday, 09 January 2017.
