| 2008 Ballon d'Or | |
|---|---|
 2008 Ballon d'Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo | |
| Date | 2 December 2008 |
| Location | Paris, France |
| Country | France |
| Presented by | France Football |
| Highlights | |
| Won by |  Cristiano Ronaldo (1st award) |
| Website | www |
The 2008 Ballon d'Or, given to the best football player in the world as judged by an international panel of sports journalists,[1] was awarded on 2 December 2008.[2] Cristiano Ronaldo won the award, being his first of five. His win also began a 10-year dominance of the award between him and Lionel Messi — which eventually led to an intense rivalry between the two. Both players had won five Ballon d'Or awards before the dominance was ended in 2018 by Luka Modrić.
- ^ "2008 Leaderboard". France Football. 2 December 2008. Archived from the original on 17 December 2008. Retrieved 17 December 2008.
- ^ Pierrend, José Luis (16 January 2009). "European Footballer of the Year ("Ballon d'Or") 2008". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 12 March 2009. Retrieved 16 January 2009.