Cristiano Ronaldo all-but named 2017 Ballon d’Or winner… as arch-rival Lionel Messi fails to make France Football’s early shortlist
Barcelona press fume as Real Madrid ace is hailed by king-makers France Football and is set to level Argie on five gongs
CRISTIANO RONALDO is set to match Lionel Messi and claim a FIFTH Ballon d’Or this year.
That is after the Real Madrid superstar was hailed on the front page of , who give out the game’s most prestigious individual award.
And the magazine posed the question: “Who can beat him now?”
Ronaldo, 32, won his fourth crown last year after netting the winning penalty in the Champions League final and leading Portugal to a shock Euro 2016 title.
That took to him just one win behind his great Barcelona rival.
And Ronaldo is set for further glory this term with Madrid on course to become the first-ever back-to-back winners of Europe’s premier club competition – as well as being commanding favourites for the La Liga crown.
The former Manchester United frontman netted a scintillating a hat-trick against neighbours Atletico in the semi-final first-leg last week after already scoring FIVE against Bayern in the quarters.
And it would appear that form has made him a shoo-in for individual glory at the December awards – as the French publication points out: “Has the race finished? Not necessarily, but the progress of CR7 is almost irreversible.
“To catch him, they will have to impress a lot. And fast.”
But who are the other candidates? Incredibly, Messi does not even feature in their four-man shortlist.
Juventus keeper Gigi Buffon is named as “the only true rival” to Ronaldo, while Atletico striker Antoine Griezmann and Monaco wonderkid Kylian Mbappe are also mentioned.
France Football add: “Messi will not play in the semi-finals of the Champions League for the second consecutive year.
“The last winner of the Ballon d’Or that won without playing in them was Fabio Cannavaro in 2006. In July, the Italian won the World Cup. That will not be the case for Messi, at least not this year.”
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Unsurprisingly, the article has gone down like a lead balloon in Barcelona.
Catalan daily calls the article a “scandal” - with seven months to go until the ceremony.
It points out that Messi has scored 51 goals this season – 16 more than Ronaldo – including his sublime winner in last month’s Clasico.
It also questions why Barca team-mate Neymar has also been excluded.
While insists the Ronaldo has been “helped by referees” and has “hardly done anything remarkable.”
It insists that Messi, Buffon and Dani Alves should be ahead of him in the queue.
If Ronaldo does claim his fifth gong this year then the race to six between the arch-rivals is a mouthwatering prospect.
Bring on 2018.