The 1997 Ballon d'Or, given to the best football player in Europe as judged by a panel of sports journalists from UEFA member countries, was awarded to Ronaldo on 23 December 1997. The Brazilian became the youngest winner of the award, at 21 years old. On 19 November 1997, the shortlist of 50 male players compiled by a group of experts from France Football was announced.
Rankings Source: RankPlayerClub(s)NationalityPoints 1 Ronaldo Barcelona Internazionale 222 2 Predrag Mijatović Real Madrid 68 3 Zinedine Zidane Juventus 63 4 Dennis Bergkamp Arsenal 57 5 Roberto Carlos Real Madrid 47 6 Andreas Möller Borussia Dortmund 40 7 Raúl Real Madrid 35 8 Peter Schmeichel Manchester United 19 9 Jürgen Kohler Borussia Dortmund 17 10 Matthias Sammer Borussia Dortmund 16 Christian Vieri Atlético Madrid 16 12 Youri Djorkaeff Internazionale 15 13 Luis Enrique Barcelona 14 14 Luís Figo Barcelona 12 15 Gianfranco Zola Chelsea 11 Krasimir Balakov VfB Stuttgart 11 17 Didier Deschamps Juventus 10 Clarence Seedorf Real Madrid 10 19 Alessandro Del Piero Juventus 9 Alan Shearer Newcastle United 9 David Beckham Manchester United 9 22 Fernando Hierro Real Madrid 8 23 Gabriel Batistuta Fiorentina 7 24 Olaf Thon Schalke 04 6 25 Juninho Atlético Madrid 5 Paulo Sousa Borussia Dortmund 5Lilian Thuram Parma 5 28 Ryan Giggs Manchester United 4 29 Oliver Bierhoff Udinese 3 Angelo Peruzzi Juventus 3 Raí Paris Saint-Germain 3 32 Victor Ikpeba Monaco 2 33 Laurent Blanc Marseille 1Ciro Ferrara Juventus 1Rivaldo Barcelona 1Bent Skammelsrud Rosenborg 1
Additionally, fourteen players were nominated but received no votes: Sonny Anderson (Monaco/Barcelona & Brazil), Enrico Chiesa (Parma & Italy), Hernán Crespo (Parma & Argentina), Iván de la Peña (Barcelona & Spain), Robbie Fowler (Liverpool & England), Thomas Häßler (Karlsruher SC & Germany), Thomas Helmer (Bayern Munich & Germany), Filippo Inzaghi (Atalanta/Juventus & Italy), Gianluca Pagliuca (Inter Milan & Italy), Robert Pires (Metz & France), Karl-Heinz Riedle (Borussia Dortmund/Liverpool & Germany), Sergi (Barcelona & Spain), Davor Šuker (Real Madrid & Croatia) and Ian Wright (Arsenal & England).
References
External links France Football Official Ballon d'Or page