The 2005 Ballon d'Or (), given to the best football player in Europe as judged by a panel of sports journalists from UEFA member countries, was delivered to the Brazilian Attacking Midfielder Ronaldinho on 28 November 2005.
Ronaldinho was the third Brazilian to win the award after Rivaldo (1999) and Ronaldo. Paolo Maldini (Italy) was the best ranked defender, at sixth, while Thierry Henry (France) was the top-ranked forward, at fourth place.
Rankings On 24 October 2005, was announced the shortlist of 50 male players compiled by a group of experts from France Football.
There were 52 voters, from Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, Estonia, Faroe Islands, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Israel, Italy, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, the Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Ireland, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Scotland, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine and Wales. Each picked a first (5pts), second (4pts), third (3pts), fourth (2pts) and fifth choice (1pt). Voted players Rank Player Nationality Club(s) Total Votes by place Votes 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th1stRonaldinho Barcelona225331142 -502ndFrank Lampard Chelsea14861315101453rdSteven Gerrard Liverpool142818733394thThierry Henry Arsenal4121633155thAndriy Shevchenko Milan33 -3344146thPaolo Maldini Milan2311216117thAdriano Internazionale22 - -426128thZlatan Ibrahimović Juventus21 -1243109thKaká Milan19 -214 -710thSamuel Eto'o Barcelona18 -12328John Terry Chelsea18 -1 -381212thJuninho Lyon15 - -1361013thClaude Makélélé Chelsea81 -1 - -214thJuan Román Riquelme Villarreal7 - - 1 2 -3Petr Čech Chelsea7 - -1124Didier Drogba Chelsea7 - -1124Michael Ballack Bayern Munich7 - - -31418thZinedine Zidane Real Madrid51 - - - -119thGianluigi Buffon Juventus4 - - -12320thJamie Carragher Liverpool3 - -1 - -1Cristiano Ronaldo Manchester United3 - - -11222ndMichael Essien Lyon Chelsea2 - - -1 -123rdLuis García Liverpool1 - - - -11Pavel Nedvěd Juventus1 - - - -11
Non-voted players The following 26 players were originally in contention for the 2005 Ballon d’Or, but did not receive any votes: Player Nationality Club(s)David Beckham Real MadridMauro Camoranesi JuventusFabio Cannavaro JuventusGrégory Coupet LyonCris LyonDeco BarcelonaDida MilanEmerson JuventusLuís Figo Real Madrid InternazionaleDiego Forlán VillarrealRoy Makaay Bayern MunichMichael Owen Real Madrid Newcastle UnitedPark Ji-sung PSV Eindhoven Manchester UnitedAndrea Pirlo MilanRaúl Real MadridArjen Robben ChelseaRoberto Carlos Real MadridRobinho Real MadridRonaldo Real MadridWayne Rooney Manchester UnitedLilian Thuram JuventusDavid Trezeguet JuventusMark van Bommel PSV Eindhoven BarcelonaRuud van Nistelrooy Manchester UnitedPatrick Vieira Arsenal JuventusXavi Barcelona
References
External links France Football Official website Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation - "Ballon d'Or" 2005 voting results