2013 Year in Review: Top 5 Real Madrid players

1. Cristiano Ronaldo

What else did you expect? Cristiano Ronaldo is not only Real Madrid’s best player, but as it stands, he is by far the best player in the world. Be it this list or any other list in the world, the Portuguese captain has to be on top of it. It’s like one of those obsessions of his, he loves being the best.

2013 saw Ronaldo lambaste every record there was to break. He has scored 69 goals this calendar year, which quite astonishingly is 2 more than the sum of fellow Ballon d’Or nominees Lionel Messi and Franck Ribery’s figures. Although it’s worth noting that Messi spent most of his time recovering from his injuries.

He was Champions League’s leading goal-scorer last season by bagging 8 in the 2012/13 campaign. This season he is already past that figure, as he has scored 9 goals in the group stage itself. Another record. His best, though, came out against Sweden in the World Cup qualifier when he single-handedly carried Portugal to the World Cup finals by scoring a sensational hat-trick in the second leg of the tie.

Ronaldo’s fans have been desperately hoping for him to win the Ballon d’Or for a long time. This year, his chances are very bright. The only hurdle could be his tussle with FIFA president Sepp Blatter who insultingly mimicked the forward in an interview.

But then, no hurdle is too big for the ‘commando’, is it?