EXCLUSIVE Ballon d'Or Special: Why Cristiano Ronaldo Should Win

There is no doubt that both Lionel Messi and Neymar had a great season last season and this season has also seen them produce beautiful football but this is why the winner of this year's Ballon d'Or should be Cristiano Ronaldo.

Like Lewis Hamilton, Ronaldo has been so good for so long that it has become fashionable to knock him for all his on-field achievements and aside from all the selfies and the celebrations, he remains a player at the peak of his powers, scoring at an extraordinary rate and carrying a once great team on his back. Among the three front-runners, two of them Neymar and Messi play for one team and that shouldn’t be a surprise because Barcelona did not only win the Champions League but also the treble and that is a remarkable team achievement. 

Just like we have come to realize over the years is that the Ballon d'Or is not about a team. It is an individual award, and, as an individual, no one comes close to Ronaldo. This season, we are told, he is off the pace, a shadow of his former self yet he has 16 goals in 20 games (all competitions) compared to Lionel Messi's (9 in 13) and on a par with Neymar (16 in 19). 

Here is vital statistics between Ronaldo, Messi and Neymar in 2015 which shows why Ronaldo should go home with the crown

Ronaldo (Real Madrid and Portugal): 48 goals in 51 games (0.94 goals/game)

Messi (Barcelona and Argentina): 44 goals in 54 games (0.81 goals/game)

Neymar (Barcelona and Brazil): 42 goals in 54 games (0.78 goals/game)

Judging by the above it is safe to say that no matter how beautiful Messi and Neymar haave played, Ronaldo is still ahead of them in 2015. His goals per game across all competitions for 2015 dwarf Messi and Neymar, and he is the only man close to a goal a game for the calendar year. Last season In La Liga alone, Ronaldo scored 48 times in 35 matches which five more goals than Messi managed, and more than double the number scored by either Neymar or Suarez. In terms of assist Ronaldo had 16 assists in the league last season only Messi had more (18), In other words, purely looking at goals scored and created, in 2015 Ronaldo is miles ahead of anyone.

I know there are also some arguments about how easy Ronaldo goals are coming in, that too many of them are penalties or that it is somehow easy to score tap-ins. I am sure some of them would say put Messi or Neymar the same chance that they would score more but what you are forgetting his that  no one in the history of the game has delivered goals at this rate for as long as Ronaldo has done. You do not get lucky 48 times in a league season. 

Another factor people are ignoring are those Ronaldo are playing with and those Messi and Neymar are playing with. Messi and Neymar are playing in probably the greatest team of all time, with service from Andres Iniesta and Ivan Rakitic, and the distracting runs of Luis Suarez but Ronaldo is part of a barely-functioning Real Madrid side, in which Gareth Bale has spent time out injured, Karim Benzema is struggling on and off the pitch, and the coach Rafa Benitez is on the brink of being sacked. Yet still, under these circumstances, Ronaldo delivers goals at a rate, and a consistency, that can't be matched. Neymar has managed it for three months, Ronaldo has been doing it for years.

At the age of 30, Ronaldo is still banging in the goals, still leading the way at the biggest club in the world. In terms of team achievements, no doubt 2015 has been a poor year but in terms of individual output, he remains unrivalled.

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