Cristiano Ronaldo won the Golden Ball awarded to the European Footballer of the Year today in Paris and became the fourth Manchester United Player to take the honour and the first since fellow winger George Best in 1968. Ronaldo`s brilliant scoring form helped him beat Barcelona striker Lionel Messi into second place, while Liverpool forward Fernando Torres was third in the poll results announced overnight by France football magazine. Ronaldo dominated the voting, tallying 446 points. Messi had 281 points and Torres had 179. Ronaldo scored 42 goals in all competitions last season as United won the Premier League and Champions League trophies.