Fans have voted Cristiano Ronaldo as their favorite European player of the 21 century ahead of 63 other legends, including Zidane and Iniesta.
Cristiano Ronaldo has topped a 64-man shortlist composed of the best European players of the 21st century.
In a poll on BBC Sport, 64 candidates were named for a European Championship-style tournament format. They were split into 16 different groups (A-P). And the ones with the most votes from each group progressed to the last-16 stage.
The eight winners from the last-16 round then proceeded to the quarter-finals before only four candidates were left in the semi-finals. The final two then squared off in the final itself.
Ronaldo comfortably topped Group B. He then beat France legend Thierry Henry in the last-16, former Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane in the quarter-finals, ex-Italy captain Paolo Maldini in the semi-finals, and Spain’s Andres Iniesta in the final.
Group Stages
* The percentages represent the amount votes that fans made for each player.
Results – Groups A to D
Group A: 1. Thierry Henry (63%), 2. Luis Figo (17%), Arjen Robben (9%), Kylian Mbappe (7%).
Group B: 1. Cristiano Ronaldo (78%), 2. Luka Modric (11%), Harry Kane (9%), Karim Benzema (2%).
Group C: 1. Kevin de Bruyne (35%), 2. Patrick Vieira (28%), 3. Sergio Ramos (23%), 4. Edwin van der Sar (14%)
Group D: 1. Zinedine Zidane (74%), 2. Wayne Rooney (18%), 3. Iker Casillas (7%), 4. Pepe (1%)
Results – Group E to H
Group E: 1. Clarence Seedorf (29%), 2. Gareth Bale (28%), 3. Pavel Nedved (24%), 4. Franck Ribery (19%).
Group F: 1. Zlatan Ibrahimovic (48%), 2. N’Golo Kante (26%), 3. Fernando Torres (15%), 4. Michael Owen (11%).
Group G: 1. Paul Scholes (39%), 2. Fabio Cannavaro (23%), 3. Ruud van Nistelrooy (19%), 4. Henrik Larsson (19%).
Group H: 1. Paolo Maldini (57%), 2. Cesc Fabregas (16%), 3. Raul (14%), Manuel Neuer (13%).
Results – Groups I to L
Group I: 1. Steven Gerrard (44%), 2. Gianluigi Buffon (37%), 3. Thomas Muller (13%), 4. Alessandro Nesta (6%).
Group J: 1. David Beckham (51%), 2. Robert Lewandowski (36%), 3. John Terry (8%), 4. Deco (5%).
Group K: 1. Xavi (66%), 2. Eden Hazard (14%), 3. Oliver Kahn (10%), 4. Petr Cech (10%).
Group L: 1. Alessandro del Piero (42%), 2. Frank Lampard (30%), 3. Virgil van Dijk (18%), 4. Andriy Shevchenko (10%).
Results – Group M to P
Group M: 1. Dennis Bergkamp (62%), 2. Carles Puyol (14%), 3. Philipp Lahm (13%), 4. Nemanja Vidic (11%).
Group N: 1. Andrea Pirlo (58%), 2. Robin van Persie (20%), 3. Rio Ferdinand (14%), 4. Ashley Cole (8%).
Group O: 1. Xabi Alonso (38%), 2. David Silva (31%), 3. Vincent Kompany (19%), 4. Gerard Pique (12%).
Group P: 1. Andres Iniesta (51%), 2. Alan Shearer (27%), 3. Francesco Totti (17%), 4. David Villa (5%).
The last-16 stage
* The winner from each tie is highlighted in Bold.
- Thierry Henry 43%-57% Cristiano Ronaldo
- Kevin De Bruyne 17%-83% Zinedine Zidane
- Clarence Seedorf 33%-67% Zlatan Ibrahimovic
- Paul Scholes 39%-61% Paolo Maldini
- Steven Gerrard 43%-57% David Beckham
- Xavi 66%-34% Alessandro Del Piero
- Andrea Pirlo 45%-55% Dennis Bergkamp
- Andres Iniesta 80%-20% Xabi Alonso
Quarter-final stage
* The winner from each tie is highlighted in Bold.
- Cristiano Ronaldo 51% – 49% Zinedine Zidane
- Zlatan Ibrahimovic 42% – 58% Paolo Maldini
- David Beckham 45% – 55% Xavi
- Dennis Bergkamp 47% – 53% Andres Iniesta
Semi-final stage
* The winner from each tie is highlighted in Bold.
- Cristiano Ronaldo 62% – 38% Paolo Maldini
- Xavi 28% – 72% Andres Iniesta
Final
* The winner is highlighted in Bold.
- Cristiano Ronaldo 56% – 44% Andres Iniesta
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