The world reacts with shock as Cristiano Ronaldo wins Ballon d’Or

In the worst-kept secret of 2016, Cristiano Ronaldo has been confirmed as the winner of the Ballon d'Or.

It was a special year, with not one but two ceremonies held (Lionel Messi picked up his 2015 award in January), and the Euro 2016 winner got the last laugh on his long-time not-really-rival.

The Ballon d'Or is back in Ronaldo's hands #ballondor pic.twitter.com/DGshGquEi2

— SportsJOE.ie (@SportsJOEdotie) December 12, 2016

After Ronaldo led Real Madrid to Champions League glory and acted almost as a player-coach after going off injured in the final of Portugal's victorious European Championships, people couldn't have possibly seen this coming. The reaction was one of shock. https://twitter.com/RWhittall/status/808388009724956674 No one saw it coming. https://twitter.com/Hannamayj/status/808386897793978368 Did everyone practice their surprised face? https://twitter.com/heartlesmisery/status/808376774103040005 The news captivated the world. https://twitter.com/ElmsMike/status/808388914675404800 And the sense of shock was so great it transcended language barriers. https://twitter.com/FlorianAudidier/status/808387745869627392 The Ronaldo v Messi debate raged, because this is a day ending in Y. https://twitter.com/Lolleyj10/status/808391227913674753 https://twitter.com/RyanMcM587/status/808394424044716034 https://twitter.com/Lolleyj10/status/808391227913674753 Do you think people are getting sick of it? https://twitter.com/Futfanatico/status/808390193371877380 So, what was Ronaldo doing when all of this went down? Why, he was basking in the glow of a photo of himself in bed, like he may or may not do every Monday. https://twitter.com/Cristiano/status/808291878386941952 It is Ronaldo's fourth Ballon d'Or, for those keeping count, while we have now gone nine years since a player other than Ronaldo or Messi took football's top individual honour. Catch up with this week's episode of Football Friday Live