Happy Birthday Cristiano Ronaldo – 7 reasons why he is the Best Player in the World

Cristiano Ronaldo has turned 30 today and some people might think that his skills might start fading now, but he still has it in him to be on top for the next foreseeable future. Be his name value or his brand value he is on top of the world. The reigning Ballon d’Or winner’s comparisons with Lionel Messi might be never-ending, but there is no denial that he is the best player in the world right now. Here are the seven reasons why:

#1 Stats Dont Lie

There is a famous saying that stats are like mini-skirts; they reveal a lot of things but hide the most important parts. However, stats do give a good indication on a player’s performances – especially if those stats fall in the ‘inhuman’ category.

Now let’s take a look at the former United winger’s stats: 36 goals in all competitions so far this season – highest among any players in Europe – and we are still halfway through the season. To top this off, he also has 10 assists thus far – one of the best among European leagues; pretty good for someone who gets accused of having no passing vision.

Calendar-year wise, there hasn’t been a single year since 2011 in which he has less than 60 goals. The consistency with which he performs is more than admirable. And he doesn’t look like declining any time soon either because…

#2 Unparalleled Diligence and will-power

Ask any Real Madrid player or coach about who is the hardest working player and he will definitely say Cristiano Ronaldo. Everyone who trains with him is of the same opinion, that he trains the hardest. Every youth team player that trains with the Real Madrid first team always looks up to him – he is their focal point, the main inspiration.

He always arrives before anyone in training and is the last one to leave. And he doesn’t overdo it either. Gary Neville once wrote in a column for the Daily Mail that one day in a training session there was “eight hard runs, but for the last two, he [Cristiano Ronaldo] seemed to take it easy.”

And the Portuguese’s reasoning for that was, “too much water kills the plant.”

He doesn’t overdo it, and he is anything but lethargic. He knows his body better than anyone and works exactly the amount that suits with his body. The will-power the former Sporting Lisbon boy has is also astonishing. There are a very few away grounds where he isn’t booed or whistled at.

And he replies to those jeers with goals. Be it Camp Nou or some random club in an obscure European country, he has haters everywhere. The reason for that, as he himself once claimed, is simple; he is rich, handsome and – most importantly – is a great player. Someone very easy to hate because of the zeal he possesses.

This is a guy who was brought up in tough surroundings – who sacrificed many things to become the player he is today. That arrogance he possesses is seen by many in a negative light, but it is that same arrogance – the will to be the best – that has made him the player that he is today and won him…

#3 Two consecutive Ballon dOr awards

The first time Cristiano Ronaldo won the Ballon d’Or was in its 2008 edition. Then came a 4-year barren run – or, rather, the Lionel Messi run. Many taunted him to be in the shadow of the Argentine and they probably weren’t wrong.

No matter how well he played, his Argentine rival outdid him in every single aspect. But he grew out of that shadow and grew so large that the Barcelona forward now finds himself obscured in the darkness of the Madeira-man’s shade.

After an astounding 2013, where he won no awards with Real Madrid but wreaked havoc on a personal level, he bettered it even further – this time, he also had accolades with the Club; the holy grail of European Football, the Champions League.

2014 was Cristiano’s best year as a Real Madrid player – four team awards and the Ballon d’Or. And he is far from finished yet.

#4 Adaptation

This is something not even Lionel Messi can claim to be good at – simply because he hasn’t tried his luck anywhere else. (This is not to imply that he wouldn’t be as good in another league like he is with Barcelona.)

From Portugal to England. From England to Spain. He adapted. The ability to adapt truly defines a player’s quality. Be it buffing up to adjust to the physical nature of the Premier League or working on his off-the-ball movements to immerse with the technical aspect of La Liga – he has done it all.

Many forwards have come to Spain from England in the last decade, but not one of them improved on their game like the 30-year-old has done. Be it David Beckham, Michael Owen, Gareth Bale or Luis Suarez – none of them could say that they have stamped their authority in La Liga like Ronaldo has. In fact, it could be argued that these aforementioned names were better in England than they have been – or were – in Spain.

When Real Madrid announced his signing for a world record fee, many expected – or wanted – him to fail as the money paid for him was way too much for that time. But Cristiano Ronaldo has shattered all those expectations like Jose Mourinho shatters the will of referees to officiate in Chelsea games.

As a matter of fact, he has been so unbelievably good that he has…

#5 More Goals Than Games for Real Madrid

There are a very few players not only in the world, but in the history of Football, to have scored more goals than the number of games played for a Club.

288 goals in 277 games for Los Blancos. Not even Real Madrid fans expected such a return when the Club signed him. He started off his Real Madrid career with an injury, but that didn’t hamper his ambitions. In fact, it strengthened him further.

After returning from injury, then boss Manuel Pellegrini used him as a center-forward in many games and this is where his off-the-ball movements went to another level and made him the deadliest player that he is today.

While Ricardo Kaka could never adjust to Spain, Cristiano went, and is still going, from strength to strength. By the time he ends his Real Madrid career, there is little doubt that he will be the Club’s all-time top scorer.

Best scorer of the best Club in the history of Football – another testament to his superiority.

#6 Wears The Holy #7 Shirt

Wearing the number 7 of Real Madrid is no small issue – it is a very big deal. The last player to wear it was the great Raul Gonzalez Blanco regarding whom once Sir Alex Ferguson famously said, “Madrid buy great players like [Luis] Figo and [Zinedine] Zidane, but Raul is the best player in the world.”

Almost every player who donned the number 7 of Real was the best player in the world at some point or the other. From Paco Gento to Cristiano Ronaldo now – this is a special shirt number. And it is given to the special player.

And Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro is that special player who wears this special Shirt.

#7 Best Brand Value

There is no space for arguments here. The Blancos star has numerous big brands as his sponsors – Castrol, Clear Shampoo, Nike and so on – was voted as the sport’s most valuable player in 2013 for the second time in his career, was the first athlete to have 100 million fans on Facebook and is the highest paid footballer in the world.

His good looks and perfect dressing style to go with it makes him the face of Football and the money magnet for brands. Just over a year ago, he further used his brand image to start a line of underwear garment.

He is not only the best on the field, but also the best off it.