#2 Cristiano Ronaldo
Winning the Champions League with Real Madrid put Cristiano Ronaldo in the driver's seat for the Ballon d'Or this year. He was ruthless in the Round of 16 and the Last 8 of the UEFA competition but was unable to replicate that form in the World Cup.
He scored a hat-trick vs Spain and the only goal in the match vs Morocco but could not do anything when they came up against Iran and Uruguay. He was almost not seen on the pitch for both games and that saw his ranking take a slight dip.
He's now moved to Juventus and is raring to have a go at this new challenge. He will have to have a great start to the season to have a chance of winning the Ballon d'Or for the 3rd year running.
Edited by Amar Anand