Ballon d'Or 2017 Power rankings - November

#1 Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid/Portugal)

Here and now - His time is now!

Everything was going according to plan for Cristiano Ronaldo and Real Madrid. It was almost as if the gods were smiling down upon them, blessing them on every step of their journey.

The Santiago Bernabeu-based outfit scripted history with their clinical rout of Juventus in the final of the UEFA Champions League, with Ronaldo netting a brace.

The journey since has been nothing like a walk in the park, but more like an incredibly difficult mountain trek. Ronaldo and Real Madrid have struggled in La Liga, while brushing off teams in the Champions League.

Ronaldo has struggled so much in the league this season, that he has only managed to find the back of the net on one occasion in 8 matches. On the other hand, he has netted 8 in 5 UEFA Champions League games.

Despite his wretched run of form, and Los Blancos being 10 points behind Barcelona in La Liga, how do you put anything past what the team and the Portuguese sensation have achieved in the first part of the year?

To be honest, it is so close between Messi and Ronaldo this year, that it was almost impossible to put one in second position and the other at Numero Uno. But you gotta do what you gotta do, right?

Messi has had an incredible year individually, some would even say, it was one of his best, if not the best. However, Ronaldo has had a good year too, individually, and a terrific first half of it with Real Madrid.

Given that football is a team sport, it is apt that a team's collective success should prevail over the inimitable genius of an individual.

Thus, when that envelope is opened on 7th December, we very much expect Cristiano Ronaldo to be crowned the Ballon d'Or winner for the 5th time in his career - helping him draw level with his arch-rival Lionel Messi.