Happy Birthday Cristiano Ronaldo – 3 reasons why he is the Best Player in the World

Cristiano Ronaldo has turned 30 today and some people might think that his skills might start fading now, but he still has it in him to be on top for the next foreseeable future. Be his name value or his brand value he is on top of the world. The reigning Ballon d’Or winner’s comparisons with Lionel Messi might be never-ending, but there is no denial that he is the best player in the world right now. 

Here are the seven reasons why:

#1 Stats Don’t Lie

here is a famous saying that stats are like mini-skirts; they reveal a lot of things but hide the most important parts. However, stats do give a good indication on a player’s performances – especially if those stats fall in the ‘inhuman’ category.

Now let’s take a look at the former United winger’s stats: 36 goals in all competitions so far this season – highest among any players in Europe – and we are still halfway through the season. To top this off, he also has 10 assists thus far – one of the best among European leagues; pretty good for someone who gets accused of having no passing vision.

Calendar-year wise, there hasn’t been a single year since 2011 in which he has less than 60 goals. The consistency with which he performs is more than admirable. And he doesn’t look like declining any time soon either because…

#2 Unparalleled Diligence and will-power

AAsk any Real Madrid player or coach about who is the hardest working player and he will definitely say Cristiano Ronaldo. Everyone who trains with him is of the same opinion, that he trains the hardest. Every youth team player that trains with the Real Madrid first team always looks up to him – he is their focal point, the main inspiration.

He always arrives before anyone in training and is the last one to leave. And he doesn’t overdo it either. Gary Neville once wrote in a column for the Daily Mail that one day in a training session there was “eight hard runs, but for the last two, he [Cristiano Ronaldo] seemed to take it easy.”

And the Portuguese’s reasoning for that was, “too much water kills the plant.”

He doesn’t overdo it, and he is anything but lethargic. He knows his body better than anyone and works exactly the amount that suits with his body. The will-power the former Sporting Lisbon boy has is also astonishing. There are a very few away grounds where he isn’t booed or whistled at.

And he replies to those jeers with goals. Be it Camp Nou or some random club in an obscure European country, he has haters everywhere. The reason for that, as he himself once claimed, is simple; he is rich, handsome and – most importantly – is a great player. Someone very easy to hate because of the zeal he possesses.

This is a guy who was brought up in tough surroundings – who sacrificed many things to become the player he is today. That arrogance he possesses is seen by many in a negative light, but it is that same arrogance – the will to be the best – that has made him the player that he is today and won him…

#3 Two consecutive Ballon d’Or awards

he first time Cristiano Ronaldo won the Ballon d’Or was in its 2008 edition. Then came a 4-year barren run – or, rather, the Lionel Messi run. Many taunted him to be in the shadow of the Argentine and they probably weren’t wrong.

No matter how well he played, his Argentine rival outdid him in every single aspect. But he grew out of that shadow and grew so large that the Barcelona forward now finds himself obscured in the darkness of the Madeira-man’s shade.

After an astounding 2013, where he won no awards with Real Madrid but wreaked havoc on a personal level, he bettered it even further – this time, he also had accolades with the Club; the holy grail of European Football, the Champions League.

2014 was Cristiano’s best year as a Real Madrid player – four team awards and the Ballon d’Or. And he is far from finished yet.