It is very difficult to start talking about the Ballon d’Or award these days without having the likes of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo at the forefront. This is because these superstars have dominated the sport in a manner that world football has never experienced, incredibly sharing the last 10 editions of the award between them.
Ronaldo won his fifth accolade in 2017 and has emerged as the favourite to win it again this year. After guiding Real Madrid to a third consecutive UEFA Champions League title as well as producing a couple of outstanding displays at the FIFA World Cup held in Russia, many people are currently tipping the Portuguese to defend his honour.
However, if you vividly analyze the attacker’s performances and achievements during the year, you will realize that there are a few shortcomings that could hinder him from winning the Ballon d’Or this time. With the race for the award getting hotter every year, we take a look at 4 reasons why the Portuguese could end up missing out on the prestigious prize.
#4 Domestic failure
We all know that the Ballon d’Or takes into account the performances of the players in various competitions to determine who gets their hand on the award. This makes it necessary for all contenders to showcase their best in every competition they participate in.
Cristiano Ronaldo was undoubtedly the best player in Europe last term, bagging an incredible 15 goals and 3 assists in 13 appearances on his way to leading Real Madrid to a third consecutive Champions League trophy.
While Ronaldo was at his glorious best in the Champions League, his domestic form wasn’t as good as some of his competitors. The attacker struggled for consistency in the league last term, having started slowly as scored an embarrassing 2 goals in his first 10 appearances.
Even though he eventually improved in the second half of the season, he could not prevent Los Blancos from finishing third in the league, ending up an astonishing 17 points behind eventual champions Barcelona. Madrid were also eliminated from the Copa Del Rey in the Quarter Finals losing to Leganes, thus ending a miserable domestic campaign.
With the margins getting tighter every year, performing in every competition has become important and it could end up being Ronaldo’s domestic failure that could become a hindrance in claiming the award.
#3 No World Cup glory
The World Cup, often described as the mother of all football competitions took place in Russia this year, with 32 national teams going head-to-head in a battle to become world champions. With the tournament recognized as the grandest stage of all, there is no doubt that it will play a significant role in determining the winner of the Ballon d’Or this year.
The competition featured many incredible superstars and fortunately, Cristiano Ronaldo was one of them. The attacker had a brilliant start in Russia, bagging a fantastic hat-trick against Spain, following that up with another impressive winner against Iran in the second match.
However, that was as good as it got for the Portuguese and his team. Portugal scored an uninspiring draw against Morocco in the final group game where Ronaldo missed a penalty costing his team a chance to finish as group winners.
This meant Portugal got a tough round of 16 draw against Uruguay. An anonymous display from the Portuguese captain and a Cavani-inspired showing meant Portugal had to pack their bags at the round of 16.
Elsewhere, the likes of Mbappe, Griezmann and Modric were having incredible tournaments in Russia, leading their teams into the latter stages of the tournament and thereby becoming strong contenders for the Ballon d’Or. Some of these superstars ended up winning the trophy and will pose serious threats to Ronaldo’s chances of winning the Ballon d’Or this year.
#2 The threat of Lionel Messi
At this moment in time, there is no doubt who Cristiano Ronaldo’s greatest rival is. After being involved in a war of dominance with the Portuguese for the past 10 years, Barcelona legend, Lionel Messi remains one of the few superstars who can stop the attacker from winning the Ballon d’Or this year.
Messi was by far the best player in La Liga last term, finishing as both the top scorer and the most creative player in the division with 34 goals and 12 assists respectively. He also helped Barcelona to claim both the La Liga title and the Copa Del Rey trophy, concluding a brilliant domestic campaign with the Catalan giants.
In terms of the World Cup, Messi had a decent tournament scoring a high-class goal against Nigeria as Argentina crashed out in the round of 16. Even though Ronaldo had a superior European campaign last season, Messi isn’t far from his rival and the Argentine would definitely make this battle an interesting one.
With plenty of weeks still left on the calendar year, there is every possibility that Messi could end up snatching the prestigious prize away from his counterpart.
#1 Intense competition from elsewhere
The race for the Ballon d’Or award has never been this open. Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo who have shared the last 10 editions are arguably towards the back end of their career.
Recent developments suggest that they could lose their stranglehold on the amazing prize this year. In fact, the race is very tight at the moment, with several superstars threatening their dominance with incredible performances all year round.
Liverpool winger, Mohamed Salah took his game to a different level last term, bagging an incredible 43 goals and 16 assists for The Reds in all competitions as well as leading his country Egypt to the World cup for the first time in 28 years.
The World Cup has also thrown in its own share of contenders, with a lot of amazing performers emerging from the tournament that also had great club seasons. The likes of Luka Modric, Kylian Mbappe, Raphael Varane, Harry Kane and Antoine Griezmann were all brilliant at the Mundial after coming off wonderful seasons for their respective clubs. These players have a great opportunity to stop Ronaldo from defending his title.
