Cristiano Ronaldo picks up the Golden Foot award with his old rival Lionel Messi STILL yet to win it

Cristiano Ronaldo picks up the Golden Foot award – which can only be won once by stars over the age of 28 – after another standout year for Juventus… with his old rival Lionel Messi STILL yet to win it despite shining for Barcelona into his thirties

  • Cristiano Ronaldo outshone rival Lionel Messi after winning Golden Foot award 
  • Ronaldo has had another standout season with Juventus winning Serie A title 
  • The Portuguese talisman, 35, scored 44 goals for club and country in 2020 
  • His rival Messi has never been won the award, handed out to players over 28 

Cristiano Ronaldo has outshone his fierce rival Lionel Messi after being awarded the Golden Foot award.

The Juventus striker has had yet another standout year at the top of world football, winning Serie A with the Old Lady whilst taking home the competition’s top goalscorer award, the Capocannoniere.

Despite Messi winning more Balon d’Or awards than Ronaldo, the Portuguese talisman can now boast an accolade that the Barcelona forward does not possess in their ongoing battle for footballing supremacy. 

Juventus striker Cristiano Ronaldo (above) has been awarded the Golden Foot award for 2020

Juventus striker Cristiano Ronaldo (above) has been awarded the Golden Foot award for 2020

The 35-year-old won Serie A with the Old Lady and was the league's top goalscorer

The 35-year-old won Serie A with the Old Lady and was the league’s top goalscorer

The Portuguese talisman has outshone his old rival Lionel Messi who has never won the award

The Portuguese talisman has outshone his old rival Lionel Messi who has never won the award

In a post to Instagram, Ronaldo wrote: ‘I am honored to win the Golden Foot award and to be immortalised on the Champion Promenade in Monaco, together with some of the greatest football legends of all time! 

‘I am truly humbled and want to thank the fans all over the world for having voted for me’

The Golden Foot, first introduced in 2003, is an award for players aged 28 or above and can only be won by a recipient once in their career.

Roberto Baggio, Alessandro Del Piero and Ronaldinho have all been previous winners of the award and the Juventus frontman looked delighted to join esteemed company. 

Ronaldo kept with tradition by placing his feet in cement and left his signature in the concrete

Ronaldo kept with tradition by placing his feet in cement and left his signature in the concrete

Ronaldo, who scored a huge 44 goals for club and country in 2020, kept with tradition after winning the accolade by placing his feet in cement and left his signature in the concrete.

Only Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski scored more than the former Manchester United attacker, with 47 goals for the Champions League winners and Poland.

Ronaldo’s rival Lionel Messi fell short of the pair with just 26 goals for Barcelona and Argentina this year.

Cristiano Ronaldo (above) has broken another record after scoring twice against Parma

Cristiano Ronaldo (above) has broken another record after scoring twice against Parma

The 35-year-old Ronaldo has made even more history this year thanks to his incredible goalscoring antics in Italy.

He became the fourth player in Serie A history to score at least 33 goals in a calendar year after finding the net twice against Parma.

Ronaldo scored once in each half to see Juventus win 4-0 and move level on points with Inter and one adrift of leaders AC Milan.

Ronaldo’s contribution has equalled that of former Juventus forward Omar Sivori from 1961 – who scored the joint-third most goals in a single year behind Gunnar Nordahl in 1950 and Felice Borel in 1933.

PREVIOUS GOLDEN FOOT WINNERS

2003 – Roberto Baggio – Brescia

2004 – Pavel Nedvěd – Juventus

2005 – Andriy Shevchenko – Milan

2006 – Ronaldo – Real Madrid

2007 – Alessandro Del Piero – Juventus

2008 – Roberto Carlos – Fenerbahçe

2009 – Ronaldinho – Milan

2010 – Francesco Totti – Roma

2011 – Ryan Giggs – Manchester United

2012 –  Zlatan Ibrahimović – Paris Saint-Germain

2013 – Coast Didier Drogba – Galatasaray

2014 – Andrés Iniesta – Barcelona

2015 – Samuel Eto’o – Antalyaspor

2016 – Gianluigi Buffon – Juventus

2017 – Iker Casillas – Porto

2018 – Edinson Cavani – Paris Saint-Germain

2019 – Luka Modrić – Real Madrid 

source: dailymail.co.uk