Cristiano Ronaldo Ballon d'Or 2015 Winner? Yes, If Awarding Is Based On Facebook Mentions

Who should be the Ballon d'Or 2015 winner? Facebook has spoken and netizens have crowed Cristiano Ronaldo of Real Madrid.

Well, that is if Facebook users are the judge.

Data gathered by the giant social media platform conclude that Ronaldo, who lead La Liga in scoring last season, will take his second consecutive win, his fourth all in all, to match Messi's total.

According to a report by Mirror, the Portuguese football star is the most mentioned in Facebook, accounting for almost 30% of the total number of mentions. In the United Kingdom, he got an overwhelming 27% against 22 other players that were shortlisted.

The more stunning part of the result is that Messi, who is the favorite among managers and players, only ended up in third place with 14%, next to his Barcelona teammate Neymar who got 25%.

It is a different story though on Twitter.

People there think Messi should be the Ballon d'Or 2015 winner. The Argentinian collected 58% of the total mentions. The two other players in the top three are far behind as Ronaldo only got 31% while Neymar tallied 24%.

But while social media has been actively choosing their bets, the final determination as to who will be the Ballon d'Or 2015 winner will reside with the Europe-based journalists.

Recent reports revealed Lionel Messi is the clear cut favorite to win the prestigious individual award after he steered his team to five trophies last season. Even football legends think there should be no more discussions.

"I think Messi -- it's his turn," said former England star and European "footballer of the year" Kevin Keegan in interview with FIFA.com.

Former English Premier League star Samuel Eto'o has the same sentiment. However, he claimed that after Messi, it will be Neymar's turn to reign the football world.

"First place will be for Messi, Neymar will be second and then Cristiano Ronaldo will be third," Eto'O said.

"Neymar has huge potential. After the domination of Messi and Cristiano [ends], he will surely be the No.1."