Cristiano Ronaldo in tears after winning his first Ballon d’Or since 2008

Much has been made about Lionel Messi beating Cristiano Ronaldo to the last four consecutive Ballon d'Or awards. That record breaking fact has been used to torment Ronaldo both by the press and the fans, so it should come as no surprise that Ronaldo was overwhelmed with emotion when he was announced as the winner of the 2013 Ballon d'Or award.

Ronaldo was accompanied by his young son on the stage when he claimed the award and the tears soon followed, both for him and his mother, who was also in attendance. This caps a tremendous year for Ronaldo in which he scored 69 goals and carried Portugal to World Cup qualification. Though fellow finalists Lionel Messi and Franck Ribery helped their clubs to silverware and Ronaldo did not, the Portuguese's individual performance last year was deemed to be superior. (UPDATE: Ronaldo had 27.99% of the vote, Messi had 24.72%, Ribery had 23.36 and others had 23.93%.)

Ronaldo first won the Ballon d'Or in 2008, but if his reaction this time around is any indication, this one is much sweeter given the competition he had to overcome to win it.

UPDATE: Shortly after the ceremony concluded, Cristiano's official YouTube channel put out a video to commemorate the year and thank his fans...