Cristiano Ronaldo will look to dethrone rival Lionel Messi for the Ballon d'Or in 2013.
Ronaldo has been in competition for the award for years but has always come short of winning due to the prominence of Messi on the world stage. In 2012 Messi took the award for a 92-goal performance in the calendar year while Ronaldo's ability to win the Spanish League and the Spanish Super Cup went unnoticed.
2013 could be the best chance for Ronaldo to win the contest as Messi has performed well under expectations. The Barcelona star has struggled with injury all year long and has not looked as dynamic as many have come to expect. He has eight goals in the Spanish League with four goals, but his goals in all competitions for Barcelona total 12. Meanwhile, Ronaldo has been tremendous to start the year for Madrid with 18 goals in all competitions. He has 11 Spanish League tallies and leads all Champions League scorers with six goals. Throw in Ronaldo's solid performance for Portugal in September and there can be no doubt that Ronaldo has been the better player through the start of the 2013-14 season.
Ronaldo also started the year off better than Messi. He finished with far fewer goals than Messi in the Spanish League but wound up scoring more goals in the Champions League than any other player. Messi won the Spanish League with Barcelona, but that victory felt empty after the team was trounced 7-0 over two legs against Bayern Munich.
Shockingly, Messi might not be Ronaldo's biggest opponent. And for those wondering, Sepp Blatter is not either. The FIFA President recently stated his preference for Messi, but the votes for the winner are given by captains and coaches from around the world.
Ronaldo's biggest foes this year might be Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Franck Ribery. Ribery won the Best Player in Europe Award while Ibrahimovic has taken the world by storm with his terrific goals over the last few weeks.
However, Ronaldo has been on a hot streak himself and his confidence indicates that he may finish the year on a torrid pace. If he does, then the Ballon d'Or could be his for the first time since 2008-09.
Prediction: Ronaldo should definitely finish in the top three, especially if he continues his current play. Competition is a bit tough this year, but Ronaldo could potentially put an end to Messi's streak of four consecutive awards and reign victorious.
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