Sportskeeda's Top 10 iconic football moments of 2017

#6 Cristiano Ronaldo keeps the debate alive with 5th Ballon d'Or

Cristiano Ronaldo helpfully tells us how many of those Golden Balls he's won

Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Lionel Messi, Lionel Messi, Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Cristiano Ronaldo

Over the past decade, two men have treated the most celebrated individual prize in world football - the hardest to get - as their own cuddle-toy, taking turns to take it home and declare unto the world that no era has ever seen two players play at such an unbelievably high level for such a sustained duration of time.

As my boss, Amar, keeps saying, Cristiano Ronaldo deserves all our love and respect simply for making sure that there is an actual debate over who the best player in the world is in an era inhabited by Lionel Andres Messi...and this past year he showed off the qualities that have allowed him to do so, stepping up for Real Madrid when it really mattered, almost single-handedly powering them to their (frankly ridiculous) 12th Champions League triumph and leading them to their first La Liga - European Cup double in half-a-century.

Now with the Ballon d'Or count at five apiece, Ronaldo's made sure that we'll never ever outlive that most irritating, most overpowering, most unavoidable of debates - "Messi vs Ronaldo: Who's better?"