It was a gala night in Zurich on Monday. The traditional FIFA Ballon d'Or awards were handed out to all the standout achievers over the past year. The world, however, was interested in only one contest - Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi?
The two superstars have created a divide among fans and pundits reminiscent to the Pele-Maradona era. This year however, the award and the glory belonged to Ronaldo.
There is a huge debate as to whether Ronaldo or Messi is perhaps the greatest footballer of this era, but even the Messi fans would agree that this year Ronaldo was the deserving winner.
With four titles to his name the past year, Ronaldo also is the fastest player to reach 200 goals in the La Liga, averaging more than a goal per game. He has already written himself into the history books of Real Madrid, and now he has definitely left his mark globally as well.
With 56 club goals in 51 games, including an astonishing 17 goals in the Champions League on course to winning La Decima, Ronaldo was simply magnificent and breathtaking whenever he took to the pitch. With 37.66 per cent of the votes, he had more than both Messi (15.76%) and Neuer (15.72%) combined. That should give a fair idea of the level at which he has consistently performed over the course of the past year.
Considering the history of the Ballon d'Or, there has never been a player to win the award after a gap of 6 years. Over the past half-decade, Ronaldo has somehow found a way to push himself even harder and reach a level which was comparable to that of Messi.
Ronaldo is someone synonymous hard work and dedication The amount of training and physical fitness he maintains is second to none. Built like a raging bull, there is no aspect in his game that can be classified as weakness.
He turns 30 this February, so it is unlikely that he would be able to maintain the ridiculously high performance and fitness levels for too long. What we have and are currently witnessing is a player delivering his maximum, and there is hardly a team in the world which can stop Ronaldo at his best.
The only argument against him was he failed to perform at the World Cup, although the quality of his team-mates at Portugal must also be taken into account in that debate.
Here is a man who loves winning and absolutely hates losing. His post-award speech indicated that, when he revealed that he wanted to catch up on Messi who has 4 Ballon d'Or awards to his name. His passion and desire to win is truly inspirational, something which cannot be coached or bought.
For all this, Messi may come back in 2015 with a newer improved version and absolutely sweep the awards next year, but no one can deny the success and glory to Ronaldo earned this year.
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