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#3 Ronaldo's Champions League exit
In this era, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are always the favorites to claim the Ballon d'Or and they have both shown their credentials once again this year with impressive displays for their respective clubs.
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In a year without the World Cup, Champions League performances between these two players becomes the highest parameter for measuring their output.
In the European tournament this season Messi clearly has the edge. The Argentine successfully guided Barca into the semifinals of the competition with his 10 goals and 3 assists, Ronaldo's 6 goals and 2 assists weren't enough to power Juventus to that stage as they were knocked out of the tournament by a young Ajax side in the quarter-finals.
Considering that Ronaldo is Messi's biggest rival for the Ballon d'Or and he has surpassed him on the biggest stage, there should be no argument against the Argentine winning the Balon d'Or accolade this year.
