Cristiano Ronaldo deserves to win the 2016 Ballon d'Or

Away from football, it’s been a chaotic year with Nigel Farage and Donald Trump somehow front-running world politics, but on the pitch it’s been more of the same. Two players on top of the world battling it out to claim the most prestigious individual award in football.

Judging it from stats and stats alone, the Argentinian forward is ahead. In 60 appearances, Messi recorded 56 goals and 32 assists. An unbelievable tally. Ronaldo managed 5 appearances less and scored 51 goals and assisted his team mates 17 times.

But it’s a lot more than stats in a year that defines a player. It’s the whole package of what a player brings to a team and the mental influence they provide.

In a calendar year, Ronaldo took his side to an unprecedented 11 Champions League trophies. 11. No club has won the competition more than Real Madrid.

Los Blancos had to wait 12 years for La Decima (‘the tenth’) to occur. Without Ronaldo’s vital contribution, they would be waiting even longer. Wind forward two years and Ronaldo has delivered Florentino Perez, Real Madrid’s President, yet another European trophy.

In the Quarter Finals, Real Madrid were on the verge of being knocked out thanks to German side Wolfsburg.

Returning to the Bernabeu, Wolfsburg had a 2-0 lead over Zinedine Zidane’s team. They were outclassed and outperformed in Germany and there were genuine concerns that they would be exiting the competition.

In truth, Real Madrid weren’t at the peak of the powers against Wolfsburg. They underperformed apart from one man. Obviously, as we’re used to, Ronaldo rose to the occasion and operated on a different planet.

The way an athlete can go into complete zen mode and carry out a task in the way that Ronaldo did is something to be admired. Something to be appreciated. It was scrappy and it was an uphill battle, but the all-time top scorer for Portugal took it well within his stride and delivered when it matters.

He scored a hat-trick and Real Madrid finished the game 3-2 on aggregate to move into the Semi Finals. 

That was the difference this year when comparing Ronaldo and Messi. One just simply wanted it more. How much this European competition means to Ronaldo resonates in the way he plays – with everything on the line.

Last summer separated the two players for the year. Ronaldo led his Portugal team to a famous victory that will secure his name – and the rest of the team’s – in the history books forever. Portugal won their first ever European Championship.

Down in South America, Messi’s Argentina lost their THIRD final in THREE years. That’s right: 2014 World Cup (2nd), Copa America 2015 (2nd) and Copa America Centenario (2nd).

What’s the worst part of Messi’s Argentina losing those finals? The fact that, even though his country so badly needs him, he abandoned them and decided to retire. To give up. Ronaldo would never give up on his country like that.

Messi did decide to come back later in the year, but the sentiment was profound and caused furore in the national press.

Ronaldo’s critics will try and use the excuse of him not playing in the Euro final to count against him, but it does the opposite. He led Portugal to that final and deserves all the plaudits he receives. Without Ronaldo, that Portugal team was not making the final – it was a chaotic mess.

But with Ronaldo’s leadership, guidance and excellence, Fernando Santos’ team found themselves lifting the decorated trophy for the first time in their history.

Coming into the end of 2016, Ronaldo’s Real Madrid are currently sitting on top of La Liga with a hefty 6 point gap between them and Barcelona. That’s the kind of difference that wins you titles.

Ronaldo’s had yet another history-breaking year that will reinforce his name as one of the best to ever play the game. He might not be the very best there ever was, but for 2016, there wasn’t a player in sight that could match his influence and prowess on the pitch.

Ronaldo won’t be here forever; after all, he is human. Appreciate and adore him while he is still one of the best players in the world.