How the hell does he do it. Its like he can't do anything, then he gets angry and does it perfectly. feck taunting him during a fifa game!
Cristiano Ronaldo
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The 2006 WC made him this way, all the OTT booing in away grounds contributed to making him a stronger player.
Very true.
I'm sorry but to even suggest that Robben will match Ronaldo's goalscoring had he had a team built around him is just laughable. Robben is a great false winger but Ronaldo is a machine made to score goals.
Last season Ronaldo scored 19 goals with his right foot, 16 with his left and 9 headers. Stats alone will tell you physically he's already a more complete goalscorer by being the more ambidextrous player and having an aerial threat. Unless Robben's level of football reaches Messi-eqsue levels, it is very unlikely that he will hit that ridiculous amount of goals.
Last season Ronaldo scored 19 goals with his right foot, 16 with his left and 9 headers. Stats alone will tell you physically he's already a more complete goalscorer by being the more ambidextrous player and having an aerial threat. Unless Robben's level of football reaches Messi-eqsue levels, it is very unlikely that he will hit that ridiculous amount of goals.
I never said he could match it, I said he could come close in this Bayern team as he has already shown in 09/10 and 10/11 in a less dominant team when he scored 28 goals in 31 starts in the league. That's not some made up shit, it really happened. It doesn't really matter anyway, the point I was trying to make was that the team improved massively when great goalscorers (Gomez) were replaced through hard workers or started to become teamplayers (Robben), so that a well balanced team still scored more than enough, but the team conceded far less goals. In the big games you rarely see high scoring games, so not having a weakness that can be exploited is crucial. And the space behind Ronaldo is a massive weakness at Real. It was successfully targeted by Bayern and Dortmund in the CL semi finals in the last two seasons and it's still there. Just look at Real's game against Juve 2 days ago, when Ronaldo again didn't track back and the fullback he should cover assisted the equalizer. Blaming the defenders gets a bit old when they are constantly outnumbered on his flank and their job becomes a nightmare.
That's a bit like saying Messi didn't track Scholes run at OT when we beat them. Would you agree then that Messi should have tackled Scholes?
I honestly don't remember that game very well, so I don't know how the game tactically played out back then.
Who in your opinion should cover the fullback against a team like Juve with a brilliant midfield and quality attackers? They'll hurt you somewhere else if a player from midfield or defense is constantly dragged out of position to cover for Ronaldo. It's really not something new, wide players track their fullbacks, it's always been that way. Of course you get away with it against weaker teams, most of the time the fullbacks won't attack a lot if they have to defend against someone as good as Ronaldo. But top teams usually don't care that much about it, they focus on their own strengths.
This is going in circles, but depending on the output of certain attacking players, the manager sets up the team to break quickly which Ronaldo does to devastating effect, even against very good sides. It's not really rocket science either.
A couple of points as a lot has been posted since I last posted in this thread:
1. Ronaldo is not a poacher. To describe him as one is simply ridiculous. He might be isolated in certain games buts important to remember that he is a forward now and not a pure midfielder. Yes, he could drop deeper against bayern and Dortmund and maybe he should work on doing that in big games, although it can be argued that those are rare cases since he has caused barca all sorts of problems and made kompany look silly against city, however, that doesn't make him a poacher. I consider rvp a quality all round forward, anyone who calls him a poacher is wrong. He might get isolated at times because our midfield crumbles, but it doesn't make him a poacher. Ronaldo contributed shitloads more to the buildup than rvp. His starting position is actually out on the flank so he's bound to have more touches and get more involved that rvp, so if rvp isn't a poacher ( and he isn't) then Ronaldo certainly isn't. He dribbles, he goes past players, he crosses, he heads, he counter attacks well he is not a poacher.
2. With regards to tracking back, I think some players are so good you have to allow them leeway. I sometimes see messi ambling about the pitch and I never think shit this guy is doing feck all because he's so damn brilliant going forward. I think when you have someone that good in an attacking sense you get your other players to work hard and treat him like a centre forward in his defensive duties. I may be wrong about that and maybe you need 11 players tracking runners for a truly great side but on face value I doubt it. Iver never thought even your main striker needs to track bad like crazy so I'd have messi or Ronaldo off the hook and have my actual striker (if I'm playing one) track back instead, so basically Sanchez or benzema doing it for barca or real.
1. Ronaldo is not a poacher. To describe him as one is simply ridiculous. He might be isolated in certain games buts important to remember that he is a forward now and not a pure midfielder. Yes, he could drop deeper against bayern and Dortmund and maybe he should work on doing that in big games, although it can be argued that those are rare cases since he has caused barca all sorts of problems and made kompany look silly against city, however, that doesn't make him a poacher. I consider rvp a quality all round forward, anyone who calls him a poacher is wrong. He might get isolated at times because our midfield crumbles, but it doesn't make him a poacher. Ronaldo contributed shitloads more to the buildup than rvp. His starting position is actually out on the flank so he's bound to have more touches and get more involved that rvp, so if rvp isn't a poacher ( and he isn't) then Ronaldo certainly isn't. He dribbles, he goes past players, he crosses, he heads, he counter attacks well he is not a poacher.
2. With regards to tracking back, I think some players are so good you have to allow them leeway. I sometimes see messi ambling about the pitch and I never think shit this guy is doing feck all because he's so damn brilliant going forward. I think when you have someone that good in an attacking sense you get your other players to work hard and treat him like a centre forward in his defensive duties. I may be wrong about that and maybe you need 11 players tracking runners for a truly great side but on face value I doubt it. Iver never thought even your main striker needs to track bad like crazy so I'd have messi or Ronaldo off the hook and have my actual striker (if I'm playing one) track back instead, so basically Sanchez or benzema doing it for barca or real.
Most wingers rarely track back, he scored a goal and assisted on another one he did his job, stop picking on little things, i dont see you complaining about Messi who tracks back even less than Ronaldo. And no matter how hard you try and how many times you talk about the tracking back that Ribery does hes still not on the level of Ronaldo, never was and never will be. Deal with it and move on, cause you're posting the same thing over and over again its like you're a real life version of the movie groundhog day.
Actually I did. I often said that Messi between 08-11 was the better player than in his last two seasons, even though he scored less. His overall contribution to the team was bigger and he did his fair share of defensive work, mainly in pressing but also in tracking back when he played as a right winger. It's no surprise that Martino tries to change it again at Barca, just look at Messi's great defensive display in the last classico when he played on the right, he limited Marcelo's influence who is incredibly important in Real's build-up.
The last part is really difficult because you need so much movement and it's dependent on where the players are the moment your team looses the ball. Didn't Ferguson play Ronaldo in the big games quite a lot in a more central role with Rooney and Tevez out wide, two really hard working and selfless attacking players? That was a wonderful setup to play Ronaldo in, but very difficult to find comparable players to rebuild it. It's also easier to give a center forward freedom than to give it to a winger. It's so difficult to keep your shape when one of your central players (be it midfielders or centerbacks) is constantly dragged out of position to help out.
Either way, what I'm trying to say is, I think it's really unfair to blame the defenders at Real all the time and give all the praise to Ronaldo, when he's given so much freedom to score, often at cost of defensive stability. It's not that black and white.
Then I'd move Ronaldo a bit in field. That's the managers problem. Thing is, when you have such a potent weapon, and I hate to say this to you but he's simply way to ahead of someone Ribery, then that adjustment of having other players make up is worth it as you know that he'll change the game given even the slightest of window of opportunity.
Basically you've got a guy who pretty much always scores. That's too good an asset. Fergie found the perfect combination and as a manager when you have that asset you have to find systems to let that asset work in your favor.
Personally I don't think it's counter productive but a huge asset to have a player like that.
Indeed we did, SAF was smart enough to realise that in the very biggest games it was often necessary to put Ronaldo up front, perhaps because we couldn't compensate for him not tracking back against the highest quality opposition.
That said, I'm not sure why you wouldn't level more blame at Mourinhos door for those couple of games and not applying appropriate tactics but instead choose to use it as a criticism of Ronaldo? Ok, he isn't that great at tracking back and he doesn't seem to have the appetite for it, every player has his flaws, most more than Ronaldo. Constantly trying to make out that it's this particular flaw that made the difference between RM and the other top teams is getting silly though IMHO, Ronaldos the reason why RM were anywhere near those clubs, not the reason they lost.
Tactical errors and formidable opposition is why RM didn't win anything last year, not because Ronaldo didn't track back. If Ronaldo tracking back is essential to your game plan then I'm sorry but your game plan sucks.
Oh, I blamed Mourinho a lot. But I really don't know who's bigger at Real, Ronaldo or the manager, who gets his wish, even if it's maybe against the manager's ideas. I don't think it's a coincidence that Mourinho criticised Ronaldo again and again in several interviews after he left Madrid. They certainly didn't like each other a lot in the end and the past tells me that Mourinho is a smart manager who is really good at building defensively flawless teams, therefore it's surprising that his Madrid team continued to struggle that much.
And when you stop saying Ronaldo is the only reason Madrid is competing and the rest of the team is not good enough, then I stop calling out his flaws that are at least partly responsible for the rest of the team being constantly exposed in important games. It's all nice to say that the manager needs to find a way to make it work, but if he doesn't, because even a team full of top players who performed really well in other teams isn't good enough, then maybe the blame needs a bit redirection.
What I think is really unfair, if on one side you argue that Ronaldo deserves as much freedom as he wants and the rest of the team needs to make it work and on the other side you don't give any credit to the rest of the team for actually making it work in most games, because after all Real is still winning a lot of games, really a lot. They just came short in a few decisive ones. That's just wrong, imo.
A team is made up of 11 players, Ronaldo can't be and never will be the only reason for Madrid competing and winning.
First I don't think it's fair to blame either Mourinho or Ronaldo for the circus that is Madrid.. I think what's mainly to blame there is the whole dressing room and the owners of the club. This is the way the club has been run in the past few years, and it wasn't just a result of Ronaldo or Mourinho joining them.. Mourinho tried to get them to the discipline level he is used to in England, but he failed, because it was too much to handle for him.
I mean look at it this way: Mourinho had a great relation with his players in Porto, Chelsea, and Inter. Ronaldo was disciplined and we (or SAF) didn't have problems with him when he was with us. Madrid has always been the circus they're before the two joined. It's too simplistic to blame any of the two for Madrid's woes.
Also, I think Ronaldo is very important for Real Madrid. I don't think they would have been close to competing at the level they have been competing at without him.. In fact bar Messi, I don't think any player in the world is as important to his team as Ronaldo is to Real Madrid. (even Ronaldo himself when he was with us).. Taking it to the opposite extreme and saying that he's the only reason why they're this good, is also going to far imo.. Madrid does have a great squad after all.
You think Ronaldo dictates tactics to the manger?
Give me strength.
Where haven't I given the rest of the team enough credit? You're the one so determined to pin the blame on someone for losing, failing to accept that sometimes the other team is simply better. Looking forward, perhaps they should ask Ronaldo to track back, or perhaps they should make the team more structurally solid so they can deal with difficult opponents without hindering Ronaldos natural game (like SAF did). I think the latter.
I know Bayern were very dominant last year, but your constant spiel suggesting that everyone now needs to follow a similar blueprint to them and Dortmund is getting tiresome. Not everyone's star player needs to track back like Ribery and every team doesn't necessarily need to press high up the pitch. Teams and managers can adopt a different approach, get it right, and it could just as easily pay dividends.
Based on what?? I'm almost certain he'll finish third behind Ribery and Messi.
The amount of games he has been brilliant in comparison to the ones he hasn't. He's been on fire this year, can you not see this?
That's not in the slightest what I'm suggesting. I wasn't even the one who brought the Bayern comparison to the discussion, someone else said that Bayern would instantly improve with Ronaldo playing in the side and he would score even more goals with the better support he gets. I just tried to explain, that the Bayern side with him given the same free role wouldn't be as dominant in all the other areas as it is now and therefore he wouldn't have as much support as the dominance right now makes it look like. I don't really care, what tactics Madrid play, they can continue like they did in the last 3 years for all I care. I praised Ferguson for his team 06-08 and you won't hear a bad word about Mourinho's Inter side from me, those were wonderful teams, totally different to Dortmund and Bayern, take them as a blueprint and you still won't find a wide player with the freedom Ronaldo gets. Just look at Eto'o for Inter who played a lot as a wide forward in the treble winning team. He was brilliant defensively away at Chelsea, in the games against Barca (until he was subbed off in the return leg after the red card, but then Milito played brilliant defensively out wide) and in the CL final.
I really don't know how much Ronaldo influences the tactics at Madrid, but you have to be very naive if you think the star player at Real doesn't have any influence at all. Hell, even Rooney has some at United. There's a history of managers who got fired in Spanish clubs because they weren't nice to superstars or didn't play them in their favorite position, it's not really something new. I wouldn't even rule it out that Perez tells the manager to find a way for Ronaldo to score more than Messi because he thinks it's important for the image of the club. But I don't know that, so I can't judge it, I can however see what's happening on the pitch and what's not working for the team. It's not like I'm saying Ronaldo is shit and he's the main reason Real aren't winning titles. Hell, I called him one of the 3 best player in Europe this year, said that he'd be a deserving Ballon d'Or winner and that he's probably the best player in Europe this season so far just a few pages back. What I find really annoying, is that a lot of people on here make it sound like his goal scoring numbers should count even more, because he doesn't get enough support from his in comparison to other top clubs inferior teammates and then use it to belittle Ribery's performances. That's just bullshit. Alaba for example wouldn't be considered the best fullback in the world by so many people if Ribery didn't help out so much in defense and made sure that he basically never gets exposed defensively, because in reality, Alaba actually still has some flaws in his defensive positioning. Imo, people really confuse cause and effect and then use it the other way round to big up Ronaldo even more, which isn't even necessary, he's an incredible footballer without going into massive hyperbole, there's no doubt about that.
Yes I can not see this.. This is, imo, pretty much a knee jerk reaction to his latest performances this season, which has been brilliant.. But looking at the big picture:
On personal level: he failed to produce "record breaking" achievements this calendar year (it has to be record-breaking to compensate for his achievements (or lack thereof) on team level). He also finished last season 12 goals behind Messi in the league (he was on 34 while Messi was on 46, even though Messi was injured for quite a few games), and was behind Messi this year as well until Messi was injured.
On team level: He failed to win any trophy this year (he even lost the Copa del Rey), he failed to guide Portugal to direct qualification for the world cup (being in a group that wasn't that difficult), and even in the new season Madrid are currently in 3rd place.
In comparison:
Messi: has won the Golden shoe this year (by some margin), and he isn't that far behind Ronaldo for the new season as well in term of scoring (despite his injuries). He also led Barcelona to a major title (La Liga), led Argentina to direct qualification for the WC with many rounds to spare, and Barcelona are currently 1st in La Liga.
Ribery: hasn't had as great a year on personal level as Ronaldo obviously, but he won the treble with Bayern, and he's according to many people their best player.
I just don't see how Ronaldo can jump ahead of both..
Ronaldo had a lot of freedom in the Ferguson side.
So, what's actually your point then? Seems to be getting lost in the walls of text. Is is that Madrid could benefit from Ronaldo tracking back a bit more? Hardly worth the discussion if so.
Like I said before, it's no coincidence that Ronaldo often played a central role in big games with Tevez and Rooney out wide.
My point is mainly that Ronaldo's individual numbers are that good because the rest of the team gives him the freedom to achieve it, while more often than not a lot of people on here claim, he's scoring so many despite his teammates being not really good. He could do nothing all game but score 2 tap-ins after a midfielder winning the ball, passing it to a teammate who then gives the assists, while the centerforward moves around and drags centerbacks out of position and some on here would call it him winning the game on his own and saving Real again. It's just weird and very wrong.
Skorenzy said it best, when he wrote Ronaldo and also Messi's numbers became substitutes for great performances in the last years.
I can "see" any one of those three winning it. Despite how you feel about who should win personally, you can't even see any possible reason to give it to Ronaldo? Isn't that just a bit strange given the year he's had ? I haven't formed my personal opinion on this but I see three great players (with two obviously far greater than the third) who all have reasons for being in with a chance.
It's really not like that at all. You're basing all your opinion of him on a few games per season. He's a quality footballer. To constantly reduce him as some sort of tap in merchant is silly IMO. All great goalscoeres numbers are great because of two reasons - 1. They are so damn good at scoring goals and 2. Their teams up in a manner to allow the first point to be realised. But at the end of the day the only reason 2 happens, is because managers know it would be foolish not to do 2 and forgo all those goals.
That would only happen if they weigh team performances of Bayern and Barca over personal performance. Ronaldo's calendar year as an individual footballer has probably been the best of the lot.
Again that really wasn't my intention. He's neither a tap-in machine nor a superhuman player winning games on his own all the time. I'm sure his goal scoring is well balanced between easy and difficult shots, headers, goals within the penalty area and outside. It was an example for how his team is seen and not for what kind of goals he scores throughout the season.
Also I don't think tap-ins are as easy as many suggest, usually there is a lot of brilliant movement involved, smart runs, loosing your defenders, great timing. Those are important qualities and can easily be as important as great technique, Ronaldo has all of it in his locker.
He has always been outstanding in 2013, but since the end of last season and all of this season, he has been on a level that's considered not human.
Take out team performance and he's clearly been better than Messi and Ribery. This is coming from someone who watches a lot of Bayern and whilst Ribery was outstanding, I think Kroos would have been Bayern's most valuable player had he not got that season ending injury. He was the best player in Germany up until that point.
Take out team performance and he's clearly been better than Messi and Ribery. This is coming from someone who watches a lot of Bayern and whilst Ribery was outstanding, I think Kroos would have been Bayern's most valuable player had he not got that season ending injury. He was the best player in Germany up until that point.
Compare his team to the team of the only other player scoring anywhere near the same amount, Messi. Barcelona certainly has better team than Madrid which is built around Messi to the same or greater extent than Madrid is Ronaldo. I don't think anyone's said Ronaldos team mates 'aren't that good' but they definitely aren't as good as Messi's or Ribery's. I think it was a small observation in the face of some strange Ronaldo criticisms which you seemed to have jumped on.
Fact is, Ronaldo doesn't play in an especially great team in relative terms, this Madrid team isn't on the level of Barcelona, Bayern or his previous Utd team, but he still scores and produces an awful lot. The Madrid team is good, but is it any better than some of the teams that the other football greats have played in? Probably not. Yet you seem to be intent on telling us that Madrid has a great team and are great team mates for Ronaldo which obviously benefits him, but this is true of so many players, past and present that it's makes it seem really odd for you to keep going on about it in relation to Ronaldo.
I agree about Ribery and Kroos, theres a resemblance between our '99 team and this Bayern team IMO, in the sense that there was no one truly head and shoulders above the rest in those teams, lots and lots of consistent performances from great players and a fantastic collective.
No one from our '99 team was anywhere near winning the ballon dor that year (rightly or wrongly) and that's without the presence of extraordinary seasons from freaks of nature like Messi and Ronaldo.
If Ribery wins it this year I'll be pissed that one of Keane, Yorke or Beckham didn't in '99!!
How many goals is Ronaldo on for this calendar year now (official club games+internationals)?
90% of all Bayern fans I know wanted Kroos out of the team all season and didn't mind him being injured and quite a lot think we played our by far best performances without him, the games against Barca & Juve. I think he's either underrated or overrated but rarely judged fairly, which is a bit weird. I don't think we could have played as brilliant against Barca with him in the team, but we wouldn't have struggled as much against Dortmund, if he played the CL final. He allows us to control the midfield, play through pressing, but we also become a team a bit too much focused on possession and are not as good in unlocking a strong defence with him in the team. I like him a lot, but he was nowhere near as important to the team as Ribery was. Saying Kroos was the best player is like saying Iniesta was more important than Messi in Barca's treble winning side, you could make the same case for Schweinsteiger, who was probably almost as important for us as Xavi was back then. But that's really a discussion for another thread and I happily join in there, but I don't want to drag the thread here further off topic.
Ballon d'Or votes in 99:
http://www.rsssf.com/miscellaneous/europa-poy99.html
Beckham came close and imo Rivaldo winning it was heavily influenced by him playing a brilliant Copa America, dragging Brazil to the title. If Messi or Ronaldo played a comparable international tournament this summer, we wouldn't even discuss if Ribery had a chance of winning it, he would also get nowhere near it. Didn't happen though, back luck for Beckham in 99.
Ballon d'Or votes in 99:
http://www.rsssf.com/miscellaneous/europa-poy99.html
Shit yeah, Beckham was second, I would've had him last out of the three I mentioned though! Do Copa Americas heavily influence ballon dors? So much so that a player from a team that didn't make it out of the group stages of the CL can win it? Don't get me wrong, Rivaldo was my favourite player during that time and I actually think he deserved it but I don't even remember that Copa.
Generally my point is that I don't agree with the notion that it has to be a player from a very successful team that wins it, if it's a close call between two players then it becomes a factor, but the gulf between Ronaldo and Ribery was so wide that I don't think it should be a huge consideration, and certainly not enough of one to award the accolade to the clearly inferior player who had an individually inferior season.
Pretty much Messi won it last year because of his goal scoring towards the end of the calendar year. Lolzy
I think outside of Europe the Copa America is seen as important as the UEFA Euro and international tournaments always have a huge influence. I think even a performance like Neymar's at the confed cup this summer would easily be enough for Messi or Ronaldo to finish first, but none of the 3 favorites played in the confed cup, so it doesn't really matter. Barca also won their league in 99 and were a bit unlucky to be in the CL group with the 2 best teams in Europe that season, that was one true group of death, arguably the 3 best teams in Europe in the same group, still can't believe we went through after loosing the first game to Brondby
.I really don't want to start the Ribery/Ronaldo discussion again
. I said it quite a few times, I think you can make a case for all three and call all of them deserved winners, Messi being the best player in the world, Ronaldo scoring the most goals and Ribery being the best player in a treble winning team that played arguably the most dominant knockout stages of all time, setting some seriously impressive records in 2013 in Europe (highest semifinal goal difference, most consecutive CL games won (9 right now and we're not finished yet), 5 consecutive away wins (also not finished yet) and in the league (I won't even start to mention all the records we broke this year). It's not just a successful team, it's really record breaking, legendary stuff. Calling the best player of that team an undeserved winner is mind-boggling really and I really think you're confusing general ability of both players with actual influence in the teams winning games this year, but yeah, if you think the gap is that big, fair enough.I think outside of Europe the Copa America is seen as important as the UEFA Euro and international tournaments always have a huge influence. Barca also won their league and were a bit unlucky to be in the CL group with the 2 best teams in Europe that season, that was one true group of death, arguably the 3 best teams in Europe in the same group, still can't believe we went through after loosing the first game to Brondby
I really don't want to start the Ribery/Ronaldo discussion again
Nobody is grudging the award to Ribery, but I think people are going by how the awards were given previously. Sneijder should have won it, by your arguments, but he didn't. I'm not sure who you'd argue for when Sneijder didn't win it that year, but the usual suspects thought Messi should win the Ballon D'Or then. It's interesting how people can move their goalposts to see their favourite player win the award, although I'm not accusing you.
Sneijder was probably the best player when Inter won the treble and he helped leading Holland to the WC final in 2010 and he still didnt win it, taking that into consideration i doubt Ribery wins it. They will give it to Messi once again if i were the other two finalists i wouldnt even show up.
Not sure there is a need for white text here, it's a decent point.. However, last year Messi broke the all time record (an astonishing 91 goals).. I already said if Ronaldo breaks that record then it would be a personal achievement that is big enough to be weighed against team achievements..
But Ronaldo is still some way away from that record (don't think he's hit 60 yet this year) and he's only around 10 goals ahead of Messi, having played more minutes than him as well.
I understand, and actually totally agree, that personal achievements should be ahead of team achievements in awards like this, but imo they have to stand out in a big way for it to outweigh considerable difference in team achievements.
We had that discussion before in the Ballon d'Or thread, Sneijder wasn't even the best player in Inter's treble winning side, Milito was and Milito actually won the UEFA player of the year award just like Ribery did this season. Sneijder only came into the Ballon d'Or discussion because he scored crucial goals for the Netherlands on their way to the world cup final, not because he was the standout player for club and country throughout the year. He also had an incredibly bad start to the new season with Inter loosing the European Supercup and being shit in the league, while Ribery is brilliant this season and actually scored the very important equaliser in the European Supercup and helped Bayern win it. I don't think Sneijder not winning it is comparable with Ribery this year, whether he wins it or not. Back then I said, all of Sneijder, Messi and Xavi would have been deserved winner, I would have given it Xavi personally, he deserved a Ballon d'Or, most people in the discussions on the Caf thought Sneijder deserved it, if I remember correctly. I didn't mind Messi winning it though. Same as this year, I don't mind if Messi or Ronaldo win it, or even Ibra, that would be funny as well (though I'd call him an undeserved winner, but well, still funny).
There was white text because, I think the way these awards are given are not consistent year on year. At the end of the day, whoever gets the award is deserving. Messi, Ronaldo or Ribery, they are all wonderful football players, it's not as if David Nugent is getting it. So, while we big up our favourite players for the award, there's a bit of an inevitability to this entire thing with Messi winning it.
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