Ronaldo sells 2013 Ballon d'Or for charity

Cristiano Ronaldo may have the reputation of being a petulant self-obsessive on the pitch, but off the pitch his generosity is, like his footballing ability, generally unrivalled.

Cristiano Ronaldo has donated one of his Ballon D'ors to charity which has raised €600,000 at a charity auction!

Class Gesture ? pic.twitter.com/HLvJG1oTVY— AccaTracker App (@AccaTrackerTM) October 4, 2017

The Real Madrid star has a long list of donations to a number of fantastic causes, from paying for the brain surgery of a 10-year-old fan in 2010 and another nine-year-old’s cancer treatment two years later, to giving a reported £5m to help the aid effort in Nepal following the devastating earthquake in 2015.

Cristiano Ronaldo has raised a huge €600,000 at a Make-A-Wish charity auction by donating his 2013 Ballon d'Or award ?? pic.twitter.com/6Pxxl1haqh

— boohooMAN (@boohooMAN) October 4, 2017

He was voted the most charitable athlete in the world in 2015 and is continuing his goodwill after raising £600,000 by selling one of his cherished Ballon d’Or trophies, reports The Independent.

Cristiano Ronaldo's 2013 Ballon d'Or raises £600k at Make-A-Wish charity auction https://t.co/w5JUcpTbFH pic.twitter.com/Z2J18OnUim

— Goal UK (@GoalUK) October 4, 2017

Ronaldo, who has four in total, donated the replica he won of the 2013 award to a London auction at the Dorchester Hotel last weekend with all proceeds going to Make-A-Wish Foundation, which is a charity that grants wishes to children with life-threatening or terminal illnesses.

Cristiano Ronaldo helped raise €600,000 for charity by donating a replica of one of his four Ballon d'Or trophies. https://t.co/XYn0gNTP0n pic.twitter.com/xzGTVeMugy

— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) October 4, 2017

His 2013 award is the one that means the most to him, having also won it in 2008, 2014 and 2016, as it ended a run of four consecutive years of his great rival Lionel Messi of Barcelona picking up the award.

.@Cristiano clears up some space on the mantlepiece https://t.co/cAih4xznJ8

— beIN SPORTS USA (@beINSPORTSUSA) October 4, 2017

In total, the event raised £2.7m, with Portugal's Ronaldo contributing 22% of the total money raised.

Replica of one of four of Cristiano Ronaldo's #BallondOr trophies earns €600,000 in an auction which he will then donate to charity.#CR7 pic.twitter.com/k8YkaPBasR

— SBOBET (@SBOBET) October 4, 2017

Ronaldo, after helping Real to their 12th Uefa Champions League title last season, is the heavy favourite to win his fifth at the awards ceremony in January and level Argentine Messi’s total of five trophies in total.