Ronaldo did the noble thing: the Portuguese sold the Ballon d'Or to Israel's richest man

"Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo's 2013 Golden Ball was sold to Idan Ofer, Israel's richest man, following a charity auction in London in 2017.

Ronaldo has won the top individual prize five times, the first time in 2008 when he was still with Manchester United and four times with Real Madrid. The 2013 competition was one of the most intense, with the Portuguese beating Lionel Messi and Franck Ribery to win the prestigious award.

After the ceremony, Ronaldo decided to donate the award to charity. The Ballon d'Or was eventually auctioned off to raise money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and Ofer purchased the trophy for €600,000.

According to Marca reports at the time, Ronaldo specifically asked for an extra copy of his 2013 award to be sold at the charity auction, and ESPN reported that the real award remained on display at his museum in Madeira.

A handsome sum from the sale of the Ballon d'Or went to a children's charity that grants wishes to children suffering from serious illnesses.

According to Forbes, Ofer, who offered the winning bid for the trophy to Ronaldo, has an estimated fortune of $9.9bn. He has stakes in two football clubs, invested in Atletico in 2017 and later became majority owner of Portuguese club Famalican.