5 amazing performances that prove Cristiano Ronaldo should have won the FIFA Men's Player Of The Year award

It was the end of an era in the football world as Juventus superstar Cristiano Ronaldo and his Barcelona rival Lionel Messi both missed out on football's top prize, with Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric upsetting the odds and emerging as the winner of the 2018 FIFA Men's Player Of The Year award.

However, FIFA's decision to name Modric as the player of the year has not gone so well with everyone, with many jumping to the defense of his former teammate Cristiano Ronaldo who also had a fantastic year with Real Madrid - producing a lot of extraordinary individual performances and dragging Los Blancos to claim their third consecutive UEFA Champions League triumph last season.

Sincerely speaking, Ronaldo was arguably the best player on the planet during the year and he deserves a lot of recognition from FIFA for his brilliant displays and accomplishments.

Below, we take a look at 5 incredible performances that prove the Portuguese should have been the winner of the FIFA Men's Player Of The Year award this term:

#5 Real Madrid 5-0 Sevilla (December 9, 2017)

The attacker put up a great display as Real Madrid hammered Sevilla 5-0

After scoring just 2 goals in his first 10 La Liga appearances last season, Cristiano Ronaldo faced intense scrutiny for his underwhelming performances in the Spanish top flight

However, the Portuguese was quick to turn things around, putting up a spectacular performance as Real Madrid thrashed Sevilla FC 5-0 at Santiago Bernabeu last December. The attacker scored Los Blancos' second goal of the match, receiving a brilliant pass from Marco Asensio and beating Sevilla goalkeeper Sergio Rico with a perfect finish after Nacho had put the hosts ahead shortly after kick-off.

He scored another goal from the spot to complete a magnificent brace during the game before setting up Toni Kroos for the fourth as well as having a hand in the fifth goal of the night.

#4 Real Madrid 3-1 Paris Saint Germain (February 14, 2018)

Ronaldo bagged an impressive brace to give Los Blancos a huge advantage

Real Madrid had a really terrible start to their 2018/2019 campaign, virtually losing the La Liga title race to FC Barcelona midway and they had only one game to save their season - a hot Champions League encounter with a rampant Paris Saint Germain side that had looked quite threatening.

Both teams clashed at Santiago Bernabeu and it initially looked as though the Parisians would get the better of their opponents after dominating the proceedings and going ahead in the 33rd minute via an Adrien Rabiot's effort.

However, Cristiano Ronaldo had other ideas, pulling one back in the 45th minute before adding another in the 83rd to bring Los Blancos back to life and give them a special momentum. Marcelo scored the final goal of the game as they defeated the Ligue 1 giants 3-1 to save their season.

#3 Paris Saint Germain 1-2 Real Madrid (March 6, 2018)

He added another in the second leg to send Los Blancos through

After helping to bring back some life into the Santiago Bernabeu with his spectacular brace against Paris Saint Germain in the first-leg of their Champions League Round of 16 encounters, Cristiano Ronaldo was there once again to finish the mission - leading the team to the Parc Des Princes for the return leg.

Following a quiet first half that produced no goals between the two clubs, the Parisians came back with more intensity in the second half as they aimed to overturn their 2-goal deficit before time runs out.

However, Ronaldo quickly killed any hopes of a revival from the Ligue 1 outfit, sending a ferocious header into the back of the net shortly after the restart. Even though Edinson Cavani pulled one back in the 71st minute, Casemiro reinstated the lead 9 minutes later as Ronaldo helped the team to qualify for the semi-final of the tournament and eased tension in the Spanish capital.

#2 Portugal 3-3 Spain (June 15, 2018)

His fantastic hat-trick against Spain was one of the finest individual performances in the FIFA World Cup

The FIFA World Cup is the biggest stage in football and Cristiano Ronaldo proved to us that he is still the biggest player on the planet with his electrifying performance for Portugal during their opening fixture against Spain in Russia.

It took the attacker just 4 minutes to open the scoring, beating Spain goalkeeper David De Gea with a fantastic strike from the spot after he had won a penalty with a quick stepover in the box that caught Nacho - whose clumsy lunge clipped him. He added another one after Diego Costa had canceled the earlier to give Portugal a deserved lead into the break.

Goals from Nacho and Diego Costa put the Portuguese behind after the restart but Ronaldo would later decide the fate of the game, sending a beautiful free-kick straight into the net to earn a brilliant 3-3 draw for his nation as well as concluding a fantastic World Cup classic that will be remembered for years to come.

#1 Juventus 0-3 Real Madrid (April 3rd, 2018)

The Portuguese scored a brilliant overhead kick against Juventus

After riding on Cristiano Ronaldo's brilliance to see off a threatening Paris Saint Germain side in their UEFA Champions League Round of 16 encounters, Los Blancos traveled to Turin to take on Juventus and once again, it was the Portuguese that stole the show in the Italian territory.

Ronaldo produced the finest display yet in his career at the Allianz stadium, giving The Old Ladies' defenders a very tough time on the left flank and finding the back of the net as early as 3 minutes into the game - receiving a low cross from Isco and beating Gianluigi Buffon with just a single touch.

A better one was to come in the 64th minute, with the Portuguese after receiving a cross from Carvajal, rising high above everyone and sending a beautiful overhead kick into the net which earned him a standing ovation from the home fans and also created a lot of buzz on the social media. Marcelo rounded off with a goal of his own in the 72nd minute but Ronaldo was the ultimate star of the match with his unbelievable display during the night.