Cristiano Ronaldo deserved Ballon d’Or award

Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo claimed his third Ballon d’Or award last night

Real Madrid and Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo last night retained the Ballon d’Or award ahead of former-winner Barcelona’s Lionel Messi and Bayern Munich winger Arjen Robben.

Ronaldo was always the favourite for the award after enjoying a stellar 12 months for Los Blancos.

Silverware

Ronaldo enjoyed a very good year at club level with Real claiming the Champions League with a 4-1 extra-time final victory over arch-rivals Atletico Madrid. The win was a special one, as it was Los Blancos’ tenth European Cup triumph.

The Portuguese international scored a last-gasp goal in the final to seal La Decima. His contribution throughout Real’s European campaign had been significant, as he fired home 17 goals in just 11 appearances in Europe’s elite competition.

Records

In terms of goals there are very few players that come close to Ronaldo. The Portuguese star’s scoring ratio at Real Madrid is incredible, as to date he has scored an extraordinary 274 goals in 285 appearances for the team from the Spanish capital.

His 17 goals last season in the Champions League is a record and is just one of the many records that Ronaldo is currently the holder. Last season’s competition saw him score in eight consecutive games and score nine goals in the group stage, a record he shares with Brazilian striker Luiz Adriano.

Ronaldo scored an incredible 52 goals in 43 appearances in the year of 2014, as he continued his relentless goal scoring form.

Perception

The perception of Cristiano Ronaldo has slowly changed in recent years. The Portuguese star was once thought of as arrogant and self-important. However, Ronaldo has always been somebody that has leant his support to those less fortunate throughout his football career.

However, because he was always so determined and driven by his goal to be the best on the football pitch people overlooked all the good that he did off the pitch. His confidence and drive was often mistaken for arrogance.

Rivalry

For a second consecutive year Ronaldo beat Barcelona forward and superstar Lionel Messi to the award. The little Argentinian had claimed the award on four consecutive occasions prior to last year’s win and is the only player on the planet who could genuinely claim to be on the same level as the Portuguese star.

The pair is out there on their own as the world’s current best two players. Messi did not enjoy a great year as his form dipped slightly by his sky high standards and although he did enjoy a better World Cup than his Portuguese counterpart, he did not contribute as much as Ronaldo at club level.

No doubt Messi will be determined to pick-up the award again and claim his fifth award. By all accounts the rivalry is not a bitter one and the competition between the two drives each of the players to produce their best form.

Both players want to be the best player in the world and Ronaldo this year has the edge on Messi, which could quite easily turn next year. However, Messi needs to be on his best form to regain the title.

There has been much debate about who is the better player, but I would rather just appreciate and enjoy the pair for the joy and entertainment they bring to the game of football, rather than argue the cases for either player.

Third

Cristiano Ronaldo is now level with Brazilian striker Ronaldo and France playmaker Zinedine Zidane after winning his third Ballon d’Or award. Only Messi has won the award more times than the Portuguese star.

At 29 years-old he still has time to equal that record, or even better it in his career. His desire to be the best player in the world will keep him striving for perfection, more goals and awards. He is always looking at his next aim and his next aim is to equal Messi’s record of four Ballon d’Or awards.

Deserved

I am a big fan of Lionel Messi. In fact he is one of my favourite players of all-time. However, simply put Cristiano Ronaldo was the best player of 2014 and deserved to win the Ballon d’Or. The Portuguese star had a major influence on his club side creating history.

The race will already be on for the award for 2015. The fight will be fierce and no doubt it will once again be a straight fight between the two undisputed best players in the world, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.

Do you believe that Cristiano Ronaldo deserved to win the Ballon d’Or?