Top 5 candidates to win the Ballon d'Or in 2018

#3 - Cristiano Ronaldo:

After the Euro Cup, Cristiano Ronaldo will be looking to add the World Cup

The FIFA World Cup is the only major trophy that Cristiano Ronaldo has failed to conquer throughout his career. Despite a bad start to the league with Real Madrid and despite the fact that the title is now FC Barcelona's to lose, the UEFA Champions League and Russia 2018 remain up for grabs, as they will be the essential two competitions that decide the identity of the Ballon d'Or winner in 2018.

Ronaldo is not living his best season ever, but despite that, you can never ever doubt the Portuguese ace. As a matter of fact, he remains the leading goal-scorer of the Champions League with six goals - at least three more than his closest competitor. It cannot be forgotten that he scored against FC Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup, as well as the winner against Brazilian giants Gremio, in the club World Cup final. It all goes to show you that Cristiano has been on top form in all competitions this season, besides La Liga. So there is no reason why he wouldn't retrieve his goal-scoring habits with Portugal in Russia.

Likewise, Real Madrid have been terrible in league action this season, but have already claimed three trophies despite that, and have managed to qualify to the knockout phase of the CL. If the last few years have taught us anything, it is that you can never rule them out from any competition, nor Cristiano Ronaldo from any individual award.