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Cristiano Ronaldo has kicked off the year 2020 with a bang. He has been on a roll with Juventus in the second half of the season, with goals coming in thick and fast for the player who recently celebrated his 35th birthday.
He has already enjoyed success since moving to Italy in the summer of 2018, winning the Serie A and the Italian Supercup in his debut season with Juventus, but a dip in the levels of performances last season saw him miss out on the coveted Ballon d'Or award for the second year running, as his eternal rival Lionel Messi took home the glistening trophy, following yet another splendid season with Barcelona.
The Argentine edged ahead of Ronaldo last December, bagging the honour for a record sixth time, leaving the Portuguese ace in his shadow. The Juve forward was snubbed despite winning more honours than his left-footed adversary last season, though his stats paled in comparison to that of the 32-year-old.
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Voting results from last year's ceremony proved to be an eye-opener for all, as they showed that Ronaldo does not hold sway as much as he used to at the award and that winning trophies alone just won't cut it, he will have to put in the work if he ever wants to inscribe his name again on the Golden Ball.
So, with him being set to be the anchorman Juventus as they lead the title race for the umpteenth time and also EURO 2020 coming up in the summer, it seems the stage is set for him to prove why he deserves the Ballon d'Or in 2020.
Here are the five things that he needs to achieve in 2020 to virtually guarantee the acclaimed prize for himself.
#5 Complete a continental treble with Juventus
Ronaldo has enjoyed a trophy-laden career and has won major honours with all of his clubs. He has won the league titles in England, Spain and Italy. He also has a bunch of domestic titles to his name and also boasts five UEFA Champions League trophies. Alas, his stars never aligned for winning all the three major honours in the same season.
He got the double on three occasions in his career. In the 2007-08 season, Ronaldo scored more than 40 goals for Manchester United, winning the second of his three Premier League title in a row and his first Champions League trophy.
With Real Madrid, where he reached the peak of his abilities, he won the Champions League and Copa del Rey in 2013-14 season and repeated the league title and Champions League double in the 2016-17 season.
Winning a continental treble is one of the most revered achievements in world football, only some of the best squads of all-time have been able to complete it. But winning it in a season, where Juventus are going to be dependent on their talisman, will give a massive boost to Ronaldo's chances and will at least put him back among the favourites.
A quick note, if history is any indication, Ronaldo's odds will increase drastically if he wins the treble, as in recent memory Lionel Messi was voted as the winner on both the occasions when Barcelona completed the treble in the 2008-09 and 2014-15 season.
Also Read: 3 Reasons why Cristiano Ronaldo can win the Ballon d'Or this year
#4 Become the highest-scoring player at international level
Extraordinary personal achievements are always an added advantage in the race for a prize like the Ballon d'Or. A new record or an unparalleled feat can act as a fillip for a player's chances of lifting the trophy.
This year, what awaits Ronaldo is the perfect opportunity to etch his name permanently in the history books as the greatest goalscorer at the international level. He is on the cusp of breaking Ali Daei's record of most goals with the national team, with his tally of 99 just 10 short of Ali's record.
Interestingly, he has only gotten better with the national side in recent years and 2019 was the best year for him with Portugal. He found the back of the net 14 times in just 10 appearances.
He has regained his Midas touch in front of the goal this year and we can only hope that this purple patch stays with him on international duty as well, so that not only he becomes only the second player ever to score 100 goals for his nation, but also overtakes Daei as the top scorer before the Ballon d'Or ceremony in December.
Also See: 5 Records Ronaldo can break in the 2019/20 season
#3 Win the European Golden Shoe
Choosing the best footballer of the year is a tricky business as there'll always be a faction of fans and pundits that will disagree with the finals results. But the math becomes very simple when choosing the best striker of the season. The striker with the most goals with his club takes home the crown of the coveted European Golden Shoe.
This season after resuming the duties with Juventus post the mid-season break, Ronaldo has been in fine form in front of the goal and would be hell-bent on finishing as a top scorer in a domestic league since the 2014-15 season, when he also won his fourth and last Golden Shoe trophy.
If he finishes with the maximum goals in Serie A this campaign, he would be the first player ever to do so in Italy, England and Spain. Favourable conjunction of him finishing as the top scorer with a real possibility of multiple trophies with club and country would set him up nicely for collecting the award in December.
As things stand, he is third in the Golden Shoe ranking, with 20 goals to his name and fellow Serie A striker Ciro Immobile, who is having the season of his life, is first with 25 goals for Lazio.
His red hot form can cause problems for CR7 but as he has shown countless times, he performs best under pressure, so it is possible that, if not the Golden Shoe, he can at least win the Capocannoniere.
#2 Win the Champions League for a record sixth time
Time and again Ronaldo has proven that UEFA Champions League is the competition that brings out the best in him. Though he could only make it to the quarter-finals last term with Juventus, any team with him in its ranks remains a favourite to win the trophy.
Ronaldo has five titles to his name thus far, four of them coming with Real Madrid, including three back to back triumphs between 2016 and 2018, while his first win came with Manchester United in 2008.
He was snubbed of the Ballon d'Or in 2018 despite winning the Champions League that year, with his former teammate Luka Modric taking away the prize, but this year, if Ronaldo leads Juve to glory, it will be one of the biggest achievements of his career.
Firstly, it will be an unprecedented sixth title for the 35-year-old, making him the most successful player in the UCL history and secondly, it will the first honour for the Old Lady at the continental level in 24 years.
Ronaldo has emerged as a leader on the pitch for Maurizio Sarri's men and it is beyond a shred of the doubt that if they are to win the elusive Champions League trophy this season, he will be their best player and will find himself staking a claim to the Ballon d'Or.
Also See: 5 incredible Cristiano Ronaldo feats that are in the Guinness World Records
#1 Win the EURO again with Portugal
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, the best players of this generation and probably two of the greatest footballers of all-time have drawn a lot of flak for their lack of trophies at the international level throughout their careers, but with them now getting closer to their retirement ages, the criticism has only gotten worse.
Out of the two, Ronaldo sallvaged himself when he led Portugal to their very first major international title at the EURO 2016 in France. Though he had to withdraw from the final against hosts due to injury, he led from the sidelines like a true leader as they lifted the prestigious trophy.
If A Seleção are to retain their title of the European champions, Ronaldo who has been in red-hot form since the turn of the decade will be the pivotal player for them on the pitch and will become the frontrunner for the Ballon d'Or, in which performance on international duty is also given consideration.
Well, winning a major international trophy is in no way a guarantee for winning the Ballon d'Or. Just take the case of Iniesta and Xavi in 2010, when both won the La Liga with Barcelona and the FIFA World Cup with Spain, but still had to make way for Messi to lift the golden trophy.
Though the Portuguese superstar's form early in the year beckons for him to take home the award this year, of the things listed here, only if he achieves at least three of them over the following months can he be expected to be standing at the podium in December or else he will yet again have to skip the ceremony in favour of the Serie A awards.
