All eyes around the football world have been glued to Real Madrid superstar Cristiano Ronaldo as he claimed the 2017 Best FIFA Men's Player award in London this morning (NZT).
The Portuguese forward won his fifth FIFA Player of the Year crown after an illustrious past 12 months, which hasseen the 32-year-old secure his fourth UEFA Champions League, third FIFA Club World Cup, second La Liga, UEFA Super Cup and Copa del Ray titles with Los Blancos.
The two finalists he defeated to acquire the award included PSG's Neymar, and long-time rival Lionel Messi, who finished in second place.
As most football fans will know, one of the most hotly-contested arguments within the sport is the Messi vs Ronaldo debate.
Followers of the sport will bicker incessantly about who of the two legends is the better footballer, and which player will retire from the game as the greatest of all-time.
Despite the overload of statistics and passion being forced upon each other by both sets of fans, the two men themselves have downplayed their perceived rivalry many times throughout their glittering careers.
Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo (left) shakes hands with Argentina's Lionel Messi ahead of a friendly at Old Trafford in Manchester in 2014. Photo / Getty Images.
However, the release of the voting list for today's FIFA awards seems to indicate that the two mercurial talents do not seem to think as highly of each other as they lead on.
Gianluigi Buffon, Dani Alves, Leonardo Bonucci, Sergio Ramos, Marcelo; Luka Modric, Toni Kroos, Andres Iniesta; Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar pose for a selfie. Photo / Getty Images.
Voting for the Best Men's Player award requires votes from the captain of the men's national side, the manager of the men's national side, and a media representative from all of FIFA's associated members.
As captains of their respective nations, both Messi and Ronaldo were permitted to rank who they thought were the top three best players in the world over the course of the past 12 months.
While the vast majority of voters listed the two phenomenon's in their top three, the Argentine and Portuguese captains did not vote for each other.
Instead, the Barcelona and Real Madrid wingers favoured their club teammates, with Messi listing Uruguayan star Luis Suarez as the best player in the world.
Lionel Messi (left) and Cristiano Ronaldo at the 2015 Ballon d'Or press conference in Zurich, Switzerland. Photo / Getty Images.
His second pick was legendary Spanish midfielder Andres Iniesta, while fellow awards finalist and former Barcelona man Neymar rounded out the Argentine's three picks.
Ronaldo also showed a lot of bias towards his Real Madrid club mates, with his number one pick going to Croatian midfielder Luka Modric, while his second and third-placed votes went to defenders Sergio Ramos and Marcelo.
Messi's and Ronaldo's votes seem to suggest that spectators should not be fooled by the perceived comraderie the pair publicly display for one another.
Their votes show their rivalry is as alive and well as it ever has been, and that although Ronaldo will be basking in the glory of his deserved Player of the Year title following an outstanding 2017, Messi will be eager to bounce back and re-claim his first FIFA-related award since 2015 next season.
