Ronaldo sells Ballon d'Or trophy

Matt Morley 7 years ago 5.7k
Ronaldo has auctioned off his 2013 Ballon d'Or trophy for charity. EFE

Cristiano Ronaldo has sold his 2013 Ballon d'Or trophy, raising over half a million pounds for charity in the process.

The Portuguese donated the trophy to a London auction, where it was sold for a whopping £530,000.

The money raised will go towards the Make-A-Wish-Foundation, a charity which tries to grant the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions or terminal illnesses. 

Spanish publication 'Marca' reports that the award was snapped up by Idan Ofer, better known as Israel's richest man.

Whilst Ronaldo may not be considered to be the most generous person on the pitch, his charity work off it cannot be criticised.

The Ballon d'Or is the greatest personal accolade in football and for Ronaldo to give it up for such a good cause is a measure of the man.

The 2013 award had huge personal significance for the Portuguese too, with it marking the year that he finally broke Lionel Messi's dominance, after the Argentine had claimed the gong in each of the previous four years.

Mentioned in the news story

C. Ronaldo