Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have been winners of the last ten Balon d'Or trophies, and rightly so. Five trophies for Ronaldo and five trophies for Messi. The comparison between the two has been so close that it is almost always down to who wins the Champions League. So far both Ronaldo and Messi have won the Balon d'Or every season they have won the Champions League as the star of their teams, regardless of what happened in European Championships and the World Cups.

This year, however, the mood around the award seems to be different. The FIFA Best did not even nominate Messi, and a whopping 40% of journalists did not rank Ronaldo in their top three. For the year that Ronaldo just had, it seems like many have forgotten especially the those in the media. This article will attempt to remind football fans of how just great of a season the Portuguese attacker produced.

 

The UEFA Super Cup Champion (2017)

 

 

 

With limited pre-season due to his excursions in the Confederations Cup, Ronaldo came off the bench as his teammates eased past Manchester United to win the 2017 UEFA Super Cup. This season Madrid had the chance to repeat the triumph but a Ronaldo-less Madrid lost 4-2 to city rivals Atlético Madrid.

 

The Spanish Super Cup Champion

 

 

 

The Spanish season kicked off with a cracker, Real Madrid vs Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup. Real Madrid ran out 5-1 winners over Barcelona. In the first leg in the Camp Nou with the game tied at one, Ronaldo scored a rocket as Madrid came out 3-1 winners.

His iconic celebration in the away stadium was in response to Messi's celebration the season before. The game also saw the superstar receive a red card that would rule him out for the next five games of the Spanish season.

 

 

Excellent Champions League Group Stage

 

 

Despite being banned for domestic competition Ronaldo was still able to compete in Europe and what a competitor he was. He became the first player in Champions League history to score in every single Champions League group stage game. Without Ronaldo, the team struggled in the league and was 7th by the time he returned.

Despite his prolific Champions League form Real Madrid still finished second in the group including an embarrassing 3-1 loss to Tottenham. Ronaldo was sometimes the lone performer scoring 9 goals in just 6 Champions League group stage games. To put that into perspective Ronaldo had more goals in the group stage alone than Messi, Harry Kane, Cavani and Neymar had in the entire tournament.

 

FIFA Club World Cup Champion

 

The great man scored two goals in two games as he became a Club World Champion for the fourth time in his career. Each time he has won the prize before he has also won the Balon d'Or, should this year be any different?

 

Great Finish to the La Liga

 

With his team in seventh place in La Liga, Ronaldo came back from suspension to try to push his team up the Spanish table. So said so done, Real Madrid finished 3rd overall and Ronaldo finished with 26 La Liga goals despite missing 11 games due to suspension and being rested for the Champions League by Zidane. These 26 goals were only second to Messi whose team was dumped from the Champions League in the Quarter Final stage. Messi missed just two La Liga games all season. Ronaldo's four goals against Girona was probably the highlight of his La Liga season.

 

Champions League Champion, Again !!!

 

Ronaldo continued his great form from the group stages into the knockout round. A clash of titans vs PSG was a tricky second round fixture for Madrid. But Ronaldo showed no fear and scored three goals over the two legs as FIFA's Best winner, Luca Modric, sat out the entire second leg on the bench in Paris.

Ronaldo and his teammates were relentless in their difficult run to the promise land beating Italian Champions Juventus, German Champions Bayern Munich, and Jurgen Klopp's plucky Liverpool outlet. Real Madrid became the first ever team to win the UEFA Champions League for three consecutive seasons. Ronaldo's tournament leading 15 goals in just 13 games was the centerpiece to that triumph. Again to put that into perspective no other player besides Ronaldo himself has ever scored so many goals in a single Champions League season.

 

 

The World Cup

 

 

The biggest showpiece of the year was the World Cup. Ronaldo, drawn in a tough group alongside Spain, Morocco and Iran needed to be on top of his game to help Portugal succeed. A dangerous opening encounter against many people's favorite Spain is what greeted the Portuguese team in Russia. Against Spain Ronaldo produced one of the best ever World Cup performances as an opening day hattrick dominated the World Cup headlines. His last-minute free kick against arguably the world's best goalkeeper captivated all who love the beautiful game.

Match game against Morocco. The Portuguese attacker did show he was somewhat human as he missed a penalty vs Iran and could not save his side from crashing out of the tournament by the hands of Uruguay.

 

Ronaldo shocked the World after he agreed to join Italian giants Juventus in the summer for a fee around $100 million. Many questioned if the player would be able to continue his form in a league known for being difficult for goal scorers due to the Italian emphasis on defending. Ronaldo and Juventus have gotten off to amazing starts. In fact, Juventus has a 100 percent record so far this season.

This feat has never been done by the Italian club so deep into the season and as for Ronaldo, the Portuguese all-time leading goal scorer has already scored five goals and laid on six assists in his new league for his new team. A controversial red card in his opening Champions League fixture is the one stain on his almost perfect start to life in Italia. Without Ronaldo, Madrid is winless and scoreless in their last four games.

 

Conclusion

 

Sometimes success can be both a blessing and a curse. Ronaldo's success in the past has made some numb to just how great of a season he had. When over 40% of journalists not including Ronaldo at all in their top three votes it makes one think that we as fans are taking what he has done this year for granted.

Messi suffers the same, for Messi to not even be nominated after winning both the League, the Cup, and the European Gold Boot is an absolute farce. Any other player in the world had the seasons these two just had Balon d' Or would be virtually guaranteed. This article just serves as a reminder for all those who forgot how good of a year Ronaldo just had.

 

 

 

​