Cristiano Ronaldo won his first of five Ballon d’Or trophies in 2008 whilst still on the books of Manchester United.
After said triumph, Ronaldo had to wait another five years to pick up his next award as Lionel Messi dominated between 2009-2012.
And when he did finally get a second Ballon d’Or, Ronaldo opted to auction off a replica for charity.
According to reports at the time from Marca, Ronaldo specifically asked for an extra replica of his 2013 award to be auctioned for charity, with ESPN reporting the real award remained on display at his museum in Madeira. The six-figure sum went straight to the children’s charity, which grants wishes to children affected by critical illness.
Ronaldo’s 2013 Ballon d’Or was sold to Idan Ofer, Israel’s richest man, after a charity auction in London in 2017. It was auctioned off to raise funds for the Make-A-Wish foundation, and Ofer had the winning bid of €600,000.
A number of other items were also auctioned off at the event in London. These included a meet-and-greet with Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola and Manchester United’s then-manager Jose Mourinho, which fetched €30,000.
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