The Ballon d’Or is the most prestigious individual trophy that every footballer aims to win in his lifetime, but only the supreme players have the chance to be even considered for this accolade.
Since 2008, arguably the two greatest players of all time – Lionel Messi & Cristiano Ronaldo have shared the trophy equally by winning 5 times each. This past decade they have produced magnificent results for their club and country, but it seems their dominance in the world of football is slowly reducing. As in this world cup, they couldn’t lead their respective nations to the glory their fans were hoping.
So, let’s discuss why Cristiano Ronaldo is the favourite to win the accolade this year:
Cristiano Ronaldo has rivalled Lionel Messi in every aspect of the game both on and off the field. For a decade they have competed for the title of the Ballon d’Or. Cristiano Ronaldo was the ace of Real Madrid for 9 years, but in this transfer window, he opted for a transfer to Turin. In the 2017-18 season, he finished the La Liga golden boot race with 26 goals in 26 appearances.
The hopes were high from Ronaldo to carry the Portuguese team on his back. He started with a bang as he scored a hat trick in the first game of his country which was against the 2010 winners Spain. But as the tournament progressed maybe the burden was too much even for Ronaldo, Portugal was defeated by Uruguay in the round of 16.
There is no doubt that when it comes to UEFA Champions League Ronaldo is a beast before he left for Juventus he managed to win his third consecutive trophy and 5th overall. He scored 15 goals in 13 matches for which he recently won the UEFA best forward of the year, though many fans believed he was snubbed of his third consecutive UEFA player of the year award which was awarded to his ex-teammate Luka Modric.
A detailed view of his performances last year :
Real Madrid (UEFA CL + La Liga):
Matches Played: 40
Goals Scored: 41
Portugal (WC qualifiers + WC 2018):
Matches Played: 13
Goals Scored: 19