What’s the story?
Legendary Brazilian striker Ronaldo Nazario de Lima has made his choice for the Ballon d’Or this season. In an interview with Fox Sports, the former Real Madrid striker opted for Cristiano Ronaldo, explaining the reason for his decision thus, “This year, I would choose Cristiano Ronaldo as the winner of the Balon D’or. For the last two years, he has been decisive. He was key in so many matches in the Champions League, he’s in the final. Cristiano’s numbers can’t be ignored.”
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Previously
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have dominated the Ballon d’Or award for the last 9 years, with Kaka being the last footballer to have won it apart from the pair, back in 2007. Messi leads the way with 5 Ballon d’Or trophies, but Cristiano Ronaldo is only narrowly behind with 4 Ballons d’Or – and he is favourite to tie things up with Messi after another incredible season.
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The heart of the matter
Having won the Ballon d’Or in 1997 and 2002, Ronaldo Nazario knows what it takes to be the best in the world. In the same interview, the Brazilian went on to note that despite admiring what Messi can do with a ball at his feet, the World Cup winner simply cannot ignore the fact that Ronaldo has scored at decisive moments this season, although he did claim that comparing the pair was ‘cruel’.
The debate over the winner of the Ballon d’Or this year is especially heated, since Lionel Messi has wrapped up the European Golden Shoe award with an incredible 37 goals in La Liga, while Ronaldo is far behind in 11th place with 25 league goals. However, the Portuguese star has been decisive in games against Atletico Madrid, Bayern Munich and Sevilla for Real Madrid this season, which has seen Los Blancos end a 5 year wait for La Liga while they could create history by defeating Juventus to become the first team to win two consecutive UEFA Champions League trophies.
Also Read: Ronaldo hits out at critics after firing Madrid to LaLiga glory
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Author’s Take:
Despite Lionel Messi’s incredible feats with the ball this season, it’s hard to look past the fact that Ronaldo has inspired Real Madrid to the La Liga title and the UEFA Champions League final this season. Football is a team sport, and while the Ballon d’Or is an individual award – it has been influenced by who has won trophies of late – as can be gauged by the fact that there are calls for Gianluigi Buffon to win the award if Juventus win the UEFA Champions League. There are those who will accuse Ronaldo Nazario of favouring the player of his former side, but they cannot argue with the accuracy of his words.
