Cristiano Ronaldo News: Former Manchester United star feels the Portuguese is still the best player in the world

What is the story?

Former Manchester United winger Nani feels his compatriot Cristiano Ronaldo is still the best player in the world after having a great debut season with Juventus.

In case you didn’t know….

Ronaldo played a major part in securing Juventus’ eighth successive Serie A title win this season, netting 21 goals in the process. The former Real Madrid ace also managed to win the Serie A Most Valuable Player of the Year award in his first season in Italy.

However, Ronaldo failed to inspire Juventus to their first Champions League crown since 1996 as the Old Lady of Turin suffered a humiliating exit at the hands of Ajax in quarter-final stage. Ronaldo, who played a key role in masterminding a daunting comeback in the Round of 16 by scoring a hat-trick against Atletico Madrid, couldn’t inspire Juventus to get past the high-flying Ajax side, despite scoring twice in both legs.

On the other hand, Lionel Messi scored 51 goals in all competitions this campaign, winning La Liga title in the process. The sensational Argentine also managed to win his sixth European Golden Shoe, netting 36 times in La Liga. Furthermore, Messi ended the season as the leading goalscorer of UEFA Champions League with 12 goals to his name, despite suffering a shock exit in the semi-final stage against Liverpool.

The heart of the matter

Nani, who currently plays for Orlando City, believes Ronaldo is still the best player in the world, ahead of Messi.

"It was a successful season for him. I think he did great.

"It is not easy to play in Italy because the football there is very tactical, the defenders there defend a lot.

"He scored a lot of goals, continued to be the best in the world. I think he did great."

What’s next?

Ronaldo is expected to start for Portugal against Switzerland in the semi-finals of the UEFA Nations League tonight.