Ballon d'Or Power Rankings: July 2018

#1 Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) 🢀 🢂

Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hat-trick for Portugal against Spain

If things go according to plan for Cristiano Ronaldo, he could overtake Lionel Messi and win his sixth Ballon d'Or - a new record. There was a time when Messi was leading 4-1. It could now become 6-5 in Ronaldo's favour.

The Champions League title - Real Madrid's third in three years (a three-peat) - and finishing top goalscorer in the competition yet again with 15 goals (5 more than anyone else) has seen him soar in the Power Rankings.

And Portugal's skipper brought that same form to the World Cup and delighted fans around the world with a hat-trick against Iberian rivals Spain. A penalty, a goal from open play, and a superb free-kick late in the game saw Portugal draw 3-3 with the 2010 champions.

Ronaldo also scored his fourth goal of the tournament in the second group stage game to take his tally to four goals. He had previously scored just three goals in three World Cups prior to this (one goal each in 2006, 2010, and 2014).

Although he couldn't help Portugal qualify for the quarter-finals, there is nobody else at the moment who can come close to dethroning him from the top of the Power Rankings as he finishes the season with 54 goals for Real Madrid and Portugal.

Even if this is his last World Cup, he will still go down in history as one of the greatest goalscorers of all time!

Cristiano Ronaldo makes his 38th appearance at the #WorldCup and EUROs combined, surpassing Miroslav Klose (37) and equalling Bastian Schweinsteiger (38) for most all-time. #POR #URUPOR

— Gracenote Live (@GracenoteLive) June 30, 2018