Cristiano Ronaldo is widely expected to win a fifth Ballon d’Or on Thursday, which would draw him level with Lionel Messi for most wins in the award’s history. But what makes the Real Madrid man the best?
Well, for starters, he’s the all-time leading scorer for both club and country.
He’s also got the most goals in Champions League history, having become the first person to hit the century mark in the competition, and he’s scored 10 goals in six different Champions League campaigns, the only player to do so, and he’s about to make that seven, as he’s already on nine goals this season coming out of the group stages.
But it’s not just the sheer number of goals, it’s the significance of them. Ronaldo has scored in three different Champions League finals, becoming the first player to do so back in June with his brace against Cardiff.
That brace was the culmination of a run which saw him score 10 goals in the quarterfinals, semifinals, and final, an astonishing display of goalscoring prowess against Europe’s best.
He may grab, and indeed demand, the attention for his scoring, but the accusations of selfishness are overblown.
The Portugal star crossed 200 assists for club and country earlier this season, and no player has more assists in the Champions League over the last 10 seasons.
More than anything, though, Ronaldo wins. For Manchester United, Real Madrid, and Portugal, in the Champions League, La Liga, Premier League, and European Championships – he’s won it all. And now, he could win another Ballon d’Or.
