Ex-Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo only has four of his five Ballon d’Or trophies – after he auctioned one off to charity to raise funds for the Make-a-Wish Foundation
Cristiano Ronaldo only has four of his five Ballon d’Or’s – and the ex-Manchester United star sold one of his accolades to Israel’s richest person.
The winner of the Ballon d’Or is awarded a replica version – which is usually donated to their club or placed in a personal museum. However, after winning in 2013, Ronaldo opted to donate his to charity.
Ronaldo’s Ballon d’Or went to auction in London, with proceeds being awarded to the Make-a-Wish Foundation. Idan Ofer, the richest person in Israel, won the prize with an eye-watering €600,000 (£524,920) winning bid.
Ronaldo, who recently moved to Saudi Arabian side Al-Nassr, has won the Ballon d’Or on five occasions.
His first came in 2008, when he was still in his first spell at the Red Devils, with his second coming five years later. It was his second award that ended up at auction – it’s believed that Ronaldo still has his other four awards.
Ronaldo won the next two awards – in 2014 and 2015 – before winning his final award in 2017.
The 37-year-old was nominated for the 2022 edition, but he finished 20th without any points. Ronaldo was behind the likes of Borussia Dortmund’s Sebastian Haller and Liverpool’s Luis Diaz.
However, since the ceremony, Ronaldo has left the Red Devils – after a bombshell interview with Piers Morgan – to link up with Al-Nassr.
Ronaldo vs Messi super ticket sold to real estate mogul
A Saudi Arabian real estate mogul has won a mega ticket to watch a friendly between two football greats, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, after bidding SAR 10m (£2.1m/€2.4m/$2.7m) at an auction.
It was revealed last week that the businessman had made the significant offer, with the proceeds set to be donated to charity.
The match will take place tomorrow (Thursday) in Riyadh, with an Allstar side made up of players from Ronaldo’s new club Al Nassr and Al Hilal, and Messi’s Paris Saint-Germain.
To promote the friendly, Turki al-Sheikh, advisor to the Royal Court and head of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority, announced the charity auction for a special ticket that would allow the holder to access opportunities like having a picture taken with the players, as well as access to the locker rooms.
Bidding started at SAR 1m before the auction closed on Tuesday night.
Real estate mogul Mushref al-Ghamdi was the eventual winner after bidding SAR 10m for the ticket.
The proceeds from the auction are set to be donated to the national charity campaign called Ehsan.
SOURCE: dailystar.co.uk, theticketingbusiness.com
