Ballon d'Or 2017 Power rankings - Top 5 

#2. Cristiano Ronaldo

Shhh... Cristiano Ronaldo silenced quite a few critics this year

The man.

Winner of the Champions League. Winner of La Liga. Scorer of 10 goals in 5 Champions League knock-out matches (the quarters, the semis and the final). All-around badass.

Ronaldo stamped his authority on the footballing calendar in a whirlwind period of four odd matches between March and June where he scored the goals that won Real Madrid all that they won. He was an unstoppable goal-scoring machine, but in the manner that has drawn some criticism in the recent past - he was a wonderful team player, agreeing to rest against the smaller sides (as advised by his coach, Zidane), hugging the touchline when asked to, switching between the roles of winger, inside forward and central striker effortlessly and against the best sides.

Carrying over the good-will of the 2016 win as well and desperately seeking that record-equalling fifth triumph, the great man is arguably the favourite to win the award.

Why the no.2 ranking then?

Because of just how out-of-this-world good the man's who's no.1 has been all this calendar year.