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For the first time in about 10 years, a player not named Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo has finally emerged to rule the football world, with Real Madrid superstar Luka Modric upsetting the odds and fending off competition from the duo to claim the prestigious The Best FIFA Men's Player award for 2018.
However, debates are still ongoing over FIFA's decision to recognise the Croatian as the best player in the world at the expense of the aforementioned superstars who also had a fantastic year - with many coming to the defense of the Argentine and Portuguese maestros, referring to their statistics, performances, and accomplishments during the year.
While it might be a bit difficult to make a strong case for Lionel Messi due to his failure in the UEFA Champions League and his mediocre displays at the FIFA World Cup, the same cannot be said of Cristiano Ronaldo who put up a lot of strong performances in both competitions. As a matter of fact, below are 3 reasons why the Portuguese should have won the accolade.
#3 Explosive performances
Even at 33, Cristiano Ronaldo maintained his unbelievable form last season, producing a lot of adorable performances, reaching new heights in his career and continuously proving that age is just a number.
The Portuguese was at an untouchable level in Europe, bagging an unbelievable 15 goals and 3 assists in 13 appearances to guide Real Madrid to their third consecutive UEFA Champions League triumph, as well as recording a whopping 26 goals and 5 assists to his name during the LaLiga campaign.
He also extended his incredible performances to the FIFA World Cup that took place in Russia recently, scoring 4 spectacular goals to help Portugal make it into the knockout phase of the tournament.
All stats via transfermarkt
#2 The UEFA Champions League
Cristiano Ronaldo made the UEFA Champions League his own throughout the previous campaign, scoring almost at will, breaking records upon records, and making victory look very easy in Europe's elite competition.
The attacker recorded an unbelievable 15 goals to his name in the tournament, becoming the first player to finish as the top scorer of the competition in 6 successive seasons as well as the first player to score in 10 consecutive Champions League games.
He also improved his record as the all-time scorer of the European tournament, raising his tally from 105 goals to 120 goals, and claiming his fifth UEFA Champions League title to mark another successful European campaign.
#1 The big games
Last season represents a reminder for all football fans that Cristiano Ronaldo remains the best man for the big games, with the attacker putting up a lot of unbelievable performances and deciding the fate of several high profile matches with his incredible individual brilliance and fantastic talent.
The Portuguese ran riot in the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League last term, producing a couple of eye-catching displays, and single-handedly guiding Real Madrid past the likes of Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus on the way to claiming the coveted trophy.
He also scored against the likes of Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Real Sociedad and Sevilla in the Spanish top flight before getting football fans elated with his spectacular hat-trick against Spain in the recently concluded FIFA World Cup in Russia.
