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Cristiano Ronaldo had a terrible start to the 2017/18 La Liga season and people were questioning if his time was up. The Real Madrid legend was not able to score at will nor was he able to provide anything to the team.
However, September arrived and the Champions League group stages kicked off. Ronaldo was a completely different player in the European tournament and notched 9 goals in the group stage alone – while still not doing anything significant in La Liga.
January was also a dull month for the Portuguese captain but then, out of nowhere, Ronaldo decided that enough was enough and went on a stunning run.
Messi was given the green light by all to win his sixth Ballon d’Or but things took a dramatic turn. He was scoring every other game and dominating the matches.
The 32-year-old jumped from nowhere to 4th in the rankings in Ballon d’Or Power rankings in March and was 2nd in the May rankings.
Ronaldo now leads the race in the Ballon d’Or power rankings and it’s his to lose. Here are three things he needs to do to maintain the lead in the race for Ballon d’Or:
#3 Have a good World Cup
Winning the World Cup is going to be a very difficult task. But that’s what most people said about Portugal at Euro 2016 as well. Things might not turn out the same way for them but they have all the capabilities of making it to the last 8 for sure.
Ronaldo needs to lead the charge for his country and replicate his Champions League group stage form in the World Cup group games.
Portugal have Spain, Morocco and Iran in their group. While the game against La Roja will be a difficult one, Ronaldo should be able to score a couple goals (easily!) vs Iran and Morocco. Outshining Messi and Salah at the World Cup will have a huge boost to his chances of completing the hattrick of Ballon d’Ors!
If the group stages go well, anything Ronaldo does in the knockout stages will be like an added bonus.
#2 Stay at Real Madrid
Cristiano Ronaldo revealed that he was unhappy at Real Madrid and is not sure if he’ll be at the club next season. The 32-year-old has been linked with PSG and Manchester United following his comments after the Champions League final.
Ronaldo was quoted saying “in the next few days I’ll give an answer to the fans who have always been by my side. It was beautiful to be at Real Madrid,” by BeIN Sport after the triumph vs Liverpool.
Leaving Real Madrid would be a huge mistake right now. He needs to stay at the club and prove all his critics wrong. Helping Los Blancos have a good start to the 2018/19 season can be the final step to the Ballon d’Or crown.
If he ends up at PSG or Manchester United or any other club, there will be a lot of questions and doubts in people's minds and especially those journalists who are going to to be voting.
#1 A good start to the 2018/19 season
Ronaldo’s slow start to the season was the main reason why Messi took a huge lead in this year’s Ballon d’Or race. The Portuguese did well to catch up but he can’t afford to do it again.
Should Messi or Salah have a better World Cup than Ronaldo, the start of next season is going to be very crucial. Any slip up could see one of those two take the top spot in the race.
Replicating the Champions League performance is also vital. He wanted the tournament renamed after him and if he doesn’t have a good start, people are going to ridicule him for the same and that might get the journalists’ minds changed too.
