Ask any pundit who should win the Ballon d’Or for world’s best player, and nearly all of them will say Cristiano Ronaldo.
According to UEFA president Michel Platini, Ronaldo shouldn’t even be in the top six.
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Platini said he believed a world champion should win the Ballon d’Or, which narrows the options down to the six German players shortlisted for the award: Mario Goetze, Toni Kroos, Philipp Lahm, Manuel Neuer, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Thomas Muller.
In response to Platini’s comments, Real Madrid released a statement in support of their star player, stating UEFA should look at personal achievements rather than team success. You can read the full statement here.Firstly, its surprise at the repeated declarations regarding his personal preferences over the choice of the winner of the Ballon d’Or, particularly given that he is the head of European football’s principal body, where our understanding is that the strictest impartiality should prevail.
We believe that Cristiano Ronaldo has without doubt had his best ever professional year individually, and has claimed the Champions League, the Golden Shoe and the record for the highest goalscorer in an edition of the Champions League, as well as the Copa del Rey and the top-scorer award in La Liga.”
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Despite the stellar play of the six German players nominated, there is no denying that Ronaldo had one of the greatest individual seasons in history. The Portuguese international scored 52 times in 52 matches for club and country, while winning the Champions League and the Golden Shoe as Europe’s top scorer.
While Real Madrid said they were “surprised” by Platini’s comments, they will be even more surprised if he doesn’t win the award come January.