PELE has paid a glowing tribute to 2017 Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo saying that he “would have loved to have played on the same team as him”.
The Real Madrid striker beat off competition from great rival Lionel Messi and Paris Saint-Germain striker Neymar to bag the prestigious award.
And moments after lifting the trophy at a special ceremony at the Eiffel Tower, the man considered to be the greatest ever footballer heralded CR7’s genius.
Pele wrote on Twitter: “Congratulations to @Cristiano on winning this year’s Ballon d’Or.
“I would love to have played on the same side as you!”
Ronaldo has now won the Ballon d’Or an incredible five times, equalling the haul won by Messi.
The world of social media was quick to congratulate a player who is now surely in company with the likes of Pele, Maradona and Messi as one of the greatest ever players.
What a man…. congratulations bro @Cristiano #TheBest #BallondOr
https://t.co/2GhhK81Tm1 pic.twitter.com/i9u3ujuKkZ
— Rio Ferdinand (@rioferdy5) December 7, 2017
Congratulations @Cristiano for your fifth #BallondOr!
#EiffelTower pic.twitter.com/HX4hoePi9g
— La tour Eiffel (@LaTourEiffel) December 7, 2017
The #BallondOr winners of the last 10 years:
Lionel Messi –
Cristiano Ronaldo –
Savour this era, football fans. pic.twitter.com/K0DhIdgpv2
— Joe Crann (@YesWeCrann) December 7, 2017
Former team-mate at Manchester United Rio Ferdinand wrote: “What a man…. congratulations bro @Cristiano #TheBest #BallondOr”, before sharing a photo of him with the man himself.
And the Eiffel Tower even tweeted out some praise, passing on their “congratulations” on Twitter.
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Joe Crann wrote that footie fans should “savour this moment” in recognition of being alive to watch Ronaldo and Messi in action.
Twitter user “Zack” wrote that Ronaldo was now “the best footballer ever”, while Mario Rodriguez was keen to point out that he had now “won the Ballon d’Or with two different clubs”.
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Come to Beşiktaş with Ballon d’or @Cristiano
— Gurur LAN
(@benbesiktasim) December 7, 2017
The world “legend” was widely used to describe the Portuguese star, while Nicolas Persoons described him as the “best player in history” before adding that he needed to “book a flight to watch you play”.
“Ademola” tweeted out that CR7 was the “testimony of hard work” while Gurur Lan chanced his arm by asking if Ronaldo would “come to Besiktas”.
Zam Yasin was in no doubt that this latest win proved that Ronaldo was “way better than Messi”.
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