He celebrated its award and boycotted its junior versions: did the Ballon d'Or expose Cristiano Ronaldo's contradiction?

Ronaldo was meant to play his part in those awards by voting for the Kopa trophy, handed to the best young player in the world under the age of 21 and won this time by Barcelona's Spanish star Lamine Yamal.

The Portuguese declined to cast his vote, though. So did Frenchmen Zinedine Zidane and Michel Platini, according to French newspaper L'Équipe.

It marks the fifth time Ronaldo has snubbed the award since his famous 2021 falling-out with Pascal Ferré, then editor-in-chief of France Football magazine.

The row kicked off when Ferré told the press that Ronaldo had confided in him that his greatest ambition was to retire with more Ballons d'Or than his Argentine rival Lionel Messi.

Those comments infuriated the Portuguese, who took to Instagram to deny the exchange ever happened. He branded the former editor a liar and accused him of trying to exploit his name.

Ronaldo hasn't been seen at the Ballon d'Or ceremony since. Not as a contender, not as a guest, and not even among those voting for the Kopa winner.

Ronaldo broke that boycott recently, though, after being crowned the best Ballon d'Or winner in history.

Last Wednesday, French magazine "France Football" named Ronaldo the winner of the "BOAT" award as the greatest player in the history of Ballon d'Or recipients, honouring the prize he claimed in 2008 while at Manchester United.

The Portuguese star beat Argentine rival Lionel Messi in the voting. "The Flea" finished second for the Ballon d'Or he won in 2012 at Barcelona.

Roughly 24 hours after the announcement, Ronaldo posted a tweet celebrating the award on his personal Instagram account.

He wrote: "Football belongs to the fans.. Thank you to all the supporters around the world.. The Ballon d'Or through history award is yours too".

Ronaldo has boycotted Ballon d'Or events for around five years, so his celebration of this historic award might leave him open to accusations of contradiction.

His justification may lie in the tweet he posted to mark the occasion, featuring the phrase: "Football belongs to the fans".

Those words perhaps reveal why this award sits differently with him. The fans voted for it, not the journalists who decide the Ballon d'Or.

The Portuguese star has objected more than once to the French magazine's choice of winners, not least because he hasn't lifted the trophy since his last triumph in 2017.

He still ranks as the second most decorated player in Ballon d'Or history with five wins, trailing only Argentina's Lionel Messi and his eight.