{
  "id": 17080290,
  "title": "‘Football belongs to fans’, Ronaldo thanks fans worldwide for support",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/29/football-belongs-to-fans-ronaldo-thanks-fans-worldwide-for-support",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-29T15:36:51.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Punch",
    "slug": "punch",
    "url": "https://punchng.com/football-belongs-to-fans-ronaldo-thanks-fans-worldwide-for-support/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo has expressed his appreciation to fans globally, stating that football belongs to them. According to Gulf News, Ronaldo shared this message on X on Thursday, October 29, following his win of the inaugural Ballon d'Or of All Time (B.O.A.T.) award. This fan-voting initiative was introduced to mark the 70th anniversary of the Ballon d'Or, allowing supporters to select the greatest winning campaign from football legends.\n\nRonaldo's 2008 season with Manchester United finished first in the voting, ahead of Lionel Messi's 2012 campaign, according to Gulf News. Ronaldo also shared a photograph of himself kissing his first Ballon d'Or trophy from 2008. Punch Nigeria notes that Ronaldo's message recognizes the passion and loyalty of supporters as an integral part of the sport.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}