We have already entered the latter stages of the year and the race to be named the best player in the world is heating up at the moment as several footballers continue to impress with their amazing abilities.
Having witnessed our top superstars perform incredibly for their clubs at both domestic and continental levels as well as representing their respective nations in the recently-concluded World Cup tournament in Russia – FIFA, football’s governing body has picked 3 players to compete for the chance to be recognized as the Best Player in the World for the year.
Once again, all eyes will be on new Juventus signing, Cristiano Ronaldo to clinch the accolade, after helping Real Madrid to win their third consecutive UEFA Champions League title last season. The Portuguese claimed the previous edition of the award and he has also emerged as a frontrunner to defend it this year – thanks to a brilliant outing with the Spanish giants during the campaign.
Lack of domestic success
Cristiano Ronaldo was one of the most impressive players in Europe last season, scoring plenty of goals and breaking records upon records as Real Madrid cruised to the third consecutive Champions League triumph. However, the same cannot be said of the Portuguese if we consider his performances and achievements at the domestic level.
Portugal’s failure in the FIFA World Cup
Following a lot of anticipation and expectations, The FIFA World Cup, mother of all football competitions finally took place in Russia this year – with 32 teams locking horns in an intense tournament that produced only one winner.
Just like other top superstars on the planet, Cristiano Ronaldo led his nation into competition with the aim to claim the prestigious trophy. A couple of decent performances helped the Portuguese to progress into knockout stage but they failed to make any reasonable impact as they were knocked out by Uruguay 2-1 in the Round of 16 – concluding another mediocre outing on the grandest stage for the 5-time Ballon d’Or winner.
Lack of consistency
It doesn’t go without saying Cristiano Ronaldo was one of the top performers on the planet last season, with the Portuguese racking up plenty number of goals and leading his club to claim European glory. However, despite his brilliance, the consistency of his performances can be questioned.
The attacker suffered his worst start to a domestic campaign with Real Madrid last term, scoring an embarrassing 2 goals in his first 10 La Liga appearances. He also suffered something similar in the World Cup, bagging 4 goals in his initial 2 matches only disappear afterward.
A poor start to the new campaign
It is not news anymore that Cristiano Ronaldo has left Real Madrid for Juventus. After spending a trophy-laden 9 seasons at the Santiago Bernabeu, the Portuguese decided to take on a new challenge in his career, completing a £88 million move to join the Italian champions. The attacker was expected to have instant impacts at the Allianz Stadium following his mega-move to the Seria A this summer, but he has failed to meet up with the expectations before him – failing to find the back of the net in 3 consecutive matches and recording another poor start to a domestic campaign.