Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi finished second and third respectively, while Haaland’s City teammate Rodri was voted fourth. New Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham finished fifth, with Kevin de Bruyne, Harry Kane, Bernardo Silva, Vinicius Jr and Lautaro Martinez rounding out the top ten.

As a result, Ronaldo was omitted from the list with the 38-year-old now plying his trade in the Saudi Pro League for Al Nassr. Ronaldo has still enjoyed a prolific year in front of goal, finding the back of the net 53 times in 2023 for Al Nassr and Portugal, and he looks set to end 2023 as the top goalscorer.

And Ronaldo has now responded to the IFFHS’ rankings on social media, commenting several laughing face emojis on an Instagram post about the news from Portuguese news outlet A Bola.

It comes after Ronaldo was also snubbed at this year’s Ballon d’Or, with the forward not among the 30 nominees for the first time in 20 years. Long-time rival Messi went on to win the award after helping Argentina win the World Cup and admitted after the ceremony that the pair’s time dominating the sport is now over given they are both no longer playing in Europe.

Cristiano Ronaldo laughed off the snub ( Image: Instagram/@abolapt)

“It was an epic competition between brackets,” Messi said. “Athletically, he was very good and I think we both benefitted from each other because we are both very competitive and he also always wants to win over everyone and everything.

“I think it was a very beautiful period for us and for those who love football in general. What we have done all this time is very appreciable because as they say it is is easy to reach the top but difficult to stay.

“We stayed at the top for 10 or 15 years, I’m not sure how many, and it was very difficult. It was very difficult to continue at this level and I think it was a great thing and a beautiful memory for everyone who enjoys football.”