By Wanga Charma
Portugal legend Cristiano Ronaldo recently won the ‘Ballon d’Or of All Time’ award for his stellar 2008 campaign.
While the fan-voted award is inherently subjective, it offers an opportunity to revisit and appreciate an extraordinary season from one of football’s living legends.
Football loves a debate
Football is the biggest and arguably the greatest sport in the world, and part of its appeal lies in the debates and arguments it inspires and encourages.
“Which is the greatest team of all time?”
“What’s the most memorable season ever?”
The most enduring example of this is the ‘GOAT’ debate between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Ultimately, there are countless factors that make reaching definitive conclusions almost impossible, but these debates also give us an opportunity to appreciate a player’s or team’s performance and effort.
It is important to mention from the outset that this was a retrospective public vote, separate from the annual Ballon d’Or recently won by Harry Kane.
That does not stop us, however, from revisiting one of the greatest footballing seasons in the history of the sport.
Beyond the recent headlines
Of late, Ronaldo has been the subject of scrutiny after a dispute with Portugal coach Jorge Jesus over his role within the national team.
Ronaldo left the team camp during the recent international break following the disagreement.
He later apologised for leaving but received a 30-day suspension from the Portuguese Football Federation.
While the criticism is somewhat warranted, given that he is the national team captain, his recent conduct can be examined while his earlier achievements are still recognised and celebrated.
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The mythos takes shape
Let us rewind to December of 2007.
A 22-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo has just been announced as the Ballon d’Or runner-up behind Brazilian legend Kaká.
Widely regarded as a world-class player, the question was whether he could turn his dazzling talent into sustained dominance at the highest level.
He was explosive, agile and had a swagger to match, but he had yet to display the decisiveness and ruthlessness that would define his peak.
Over the following months, his performances became increasingly more decisive, and he somehow developed and improved into an even more complete version of himself.
He transitioned from a predominantly wide midfielder into a winger who regularly attacked central scoring areas.
This evolution unlocked and introduced a footballing monster who would come to terrorise Europe and the world for the next decade.
The 2007/08 campaign was Ronaldo’s first truly dominant statistical season.
He scored 42 goals in 49 appearances across all competitions for Manchester United, including an astounding 31 goals in the Premier League and eight goals in 11 Champions League games.
The numbers were not without the hardware either.
The Red Devils retained their Premier League title and were also crowned European champions as they beat league rivals Chelsea in a thrilling UEFA Champions League final in Moscow.
A league-and-European double for the team and an embarrassment of riches for Cristiano, whose brilliance earned him a cascade of individual honours.
At United, Ronaldo claimed both the supporters’ Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year award and the Players’ Player of the Year honour.
Domestically, he collected the Premier League Golden Boot, Premier League Player of the Season and PFA Players’ Player of the Year awards.
Beyond England, the honours continued: the European Golden Shoe, Champions League top-scorer distinction, UEFA Club Footballer and Club Forward of the Year awards, FIFPro World Player of the Year and his first Ballon d’Or.
The 2008 FIFA World Player of the Year award, presented in January 2009, completed the collection.
The scale of that recognition was reflected in the voting as he received 446 Ballon d’Or points, 165 points higher than second-placed Lionel Messi and a whopping 267 above Fernando Torres in third.
The numbers alone simply cannot capture his scintillating performances that season.
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Unforgettable moments of 2008
Among the memorable moments that season, several stand out as the pick of the bunch.
Arguably his best goal was the Portsmouth free kick.
He unleashed a 25-yard screamer that left David James rooted to the spot as the ball nestled in the top right corner.
The wide-legged stance, the run-up and the ferocious rocket became synonymous with his free kick technique.
Then came the towering header against Roma.
Paul Scholes floats a ball into the middle of the box, Ronaldo arrives at speed, leaps and bravely attacks the ball.
Despite colliding heavily with Marco Cassetti, he managed to power the header home, and the goal itself perfectly encapsulates his freakish athleticism and growing ruthlessness in front of goal.
Next, his brace against Bolton Wanderers cemented his place in United folklore as with those goals he surpassed club legend George Best’s tally of 32 goals across all competitions in 1967/68.
Finally, the greatest stage brought another defining moment.
In Moscow, Ronaldo rose above Michael Essien to meet Wes Brown’s cross, directing a towering header beyond Petr Čech to give United the lead in the Champions League final.
The athleticism was familiar, but the occasion gave it even greater significance.
Although his subsequent penalty miss brought anguish, United’s eventual triumph completed a campaign in which their outstanding goalscorer became a European champion.
Countless superlatives can be used to describe this season, yet that extraordinary campaign was only one chapter in a career that continues to produce memorable moments.
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Adding to the story
That illustrious first Ballon d’Or triumph came almost two decades ago, yet Ronaldo continues to produce decisive performances at 41 years old.
On October 29th, 2026, Cris bagged a perfect hat-trick in 15 minutes for Al-Nassr against Al-Kholood as the Saudi Pro League holders won 5-2.
The icon’s goal tally now sits at 985, and he continues to pursue that ever-alluring 1000-goal milestone.
Football will keep arguing about where Ronaldo belongs in history and where his and others’ Ballon d’Or campaigns rank all-time.
This ‘BOAT’ award, however, gives us a reason to pause, applaud and appreciate footballing greatness – and the man in question captured that sentiment best.
“Football belongs to the fans,” Ronaldo said.
“Thank you to all the fans around the world – the Ballon d’Or of All Time is also yours.”
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