5 reasons why Cristiano Ronaldo will not win the Ballon d'Or award this year

Despite being overlooked for both the UEFA and FIFA Player Of The Year awards recently, many people are still tipping former Real Madrid talisman, Cristiano Ronaldo, to emerge victorious during the Ballon d'Or award gala that is set to take place in December.

The Portuguese superstar was one of the top performers on the planet last season, breaking records upon records and running riot on his way to guiding Los Blancos to claim a record third consecutive UEFA Champions League triumph as well as scoring plenty of goals and reaching fantastic milestones in his illustrious career during the campaign.

However, just as he missed out on both the UEFA and FIFA Player Of The Year awards recently, Cristiano Ronaldo could also fail to win the coveted Ballon d'Or award this term despite his incredible performances and achievements during the year.

We take a look at 5 reasons why:

#5 Domestic failure

Ronaldo has nothing to show for his domestic campaign

Cristiano Ronaldo was without doubts, the most impressive player in the UEFA Champions League last season, bagging a whopping 15 goals and 3 assists to help Real Madrid to their third consecutive Champions League triumph during the term.

However, the same cannot be said of the Portuguese when it comes to the domestic level. Despite his incredible brilliance in Europe, the attacker failed to reach a similar level of impact in La Liga and he could only watch as Barcelona beat Real Madrid to claim both the La Liga title and the Copa Del Rey trophy during the term.

There is no denying that the 5-time Ballon d'Or winner had another disappointing La Liga campaign by his own standards - recording just 26 goals and 5 assists to his name in the Spanish top flight throughout the campaign.

#4 The World Cup

The Portuguese failed to inspire his nation past the Round of 16 during the tournament in Russia

The FIFA World Cup is regarded as the biggest stage in football and there is no doubt it is having a great influence on the Ballon d'Or race at the moment - with many superstars emerging as strong contenders for the award by virtue of their fantastic performances in the competition.

The tournament presented itself as a golden opportunity for many superstars to climb the ladder to the top but quite unfortunately, Juventus superstar Cristiano Ronaldo couldn't make the most of this massive privilege.

The attacker raised the expectations before him by scoring in his first 2 games in Russia, including a hat-trick for Portugal in their opening fixture against Spain but he failed to keep up with such level of impact as he could only watch as the European champions were sent packing from the competition in the Round of 16.

With other contenders having better outings in the World Cup and helping their nations into the latter stages of the tournament, Ronaldo could end up missing out on the Ballon d'Or award this year as a result of this reason.

#3 Luka Modric

Luka Modric beat the Portuguese to claim the FIFA Player Of The Year award recently and he poses a great threat to his chances of winning the Ballon d'Or award too

There is no doubt Cristiano Ronaldo's biggest threat for the Ballon d'Or award this year remains his former teammate Luka Modric. Although the Croatian also played influential roles to help Real Madrid to their third consecutive Champions League triumph last season, it is his incredible exploits during the recently concluded FIFA World Cup that makes him a real threat to Ronaldo's chances of defending his honor as the best player in the world this term.

Modric was without doubts the best player during the tournament in Russia, producing a lot of eye-catching performances and carrying the burden of leading an under-dog nation on football biggest stage. The midfielder impressed with the role, helping Croatia to reach the final of the competition for the first time in their history as well as claiming the FIFA Golden Ball for his impressive performances.

Having already claimed a host of incredible awards this year, Modric will also be looking forward to adding the prestigious Ballon d'Or accolade to his cabinet and that could deal a serious blow to Ronaldo who is on a mission to defend the honor.

#2 Lack of consistency

The attacker struggled with consistency during the year

It is one thing to reach an incredible level of performance but is another thing entirely to maintain such level over a long period of time without fluctuating. While there is no denying Cristiano Ronaldo performed extraordinarily last season, the consistency of his performances can really be questioned.

The attacker had a poor start to the La Liga campaign last term, scoring just twice in his first 10 matches in the Spanish top flight. The UEFA Champions League was his best competition yet after scoring from the group stages of the tournament down to the quarterfinals, he failed to find the back of the net thereafter.

Even the FIFA World Cup proved no exception, with the Portuguese bagging a hat-trick in his first game, following it up with another goal before going on exile in the tournament - failing to find the back of the net in 2 successive matches as he watched his nation crash out in the Round of 16.

Ronaldo needed a whopping 320 minutes before scoring his first goal for Juventus following his famous move to the Seria A this summer and with the Ballon d'Or race becoming more intense than ever, his lack of consistency could be a major challenge for his hopes of winning the accolade.

#1 Ronaldo-Messi losing their stranglehold

Ronaldo and his eternal rival are finally losing their duopoly on top of the football world

If we were to discuss the Ballon d'Or race in about 3 years ago, no one would have doubted either Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi would eventually step up to pick up the award. However, things have now changed and it is finally happening that the duo are losing their stranglehold on major honors at the moment.

The whole world was taken aback when Lionel Messi was left out of both the UEFA and FIFA Player Of The Year award shortlists recently - but more shock was to come, with Croatian International Luka Modric upsetting the odds and claiming both awards to end a whopping 10 years of Messi-Ronaldo dominance on top of the football world.

With the likes of Antoine Griezmann, Kylian Mbappe, Mohamed Salah, Eden Hazard, Raphael Varane and Kevin De Bruyne also emerging alongside Luka Modric as strong candidates for the Ballon d'Or award this year, it is quite evident that Cristiano Ronaldo could be well beaten to the prestigious accolade this term.