2017 Ballon d’Or Winner: The Champions League Specialist

Cristiano Ronaldo’s 2017 Ballon d’Or win would be his last after a year to remember.

Even for an athlete of such elite fitness- at the age of 32 – Ronaldo was arguably passing his prime. Whilst his goalscoring numbers remained immaculate, the 2016/17 season marked the beginning of a shift in how the Portuguese superstar was utilised.

No longer the marauding forward of his youth, CR7’s evolution into a penalty box predator was well underway, a change that would drive Real Madrid to a domestic treble and help them achieve new heights on the European stage.

The dawn of Cristiano Ronaldo: Champions League Specialist had begun.

Champions League Specialist

Cristiano Ronaldo’s Champions League goals record was already remarkable.

During Real Madrid’s previous 2015/16 European campaign, he scored 16 goals in just 12 Champions League appearances, Los Blancos eventually beating Atletico Madrid on penalties in the final following a 1-1 draw in normal time.

Ronaldo was historically the ultimate ‘all-round’ attacker, playing as many games as humanly possible whilst relentlessly firing in goals across every competition.

However, in his Ballon d’Or year and as the 2017 Champions League knockout stages approached, there was a notable shift in Ronaldo’s appearance pattern. The Portugal international featured on only 29 occasions in La Liga and so missed 9 games in total with starts in Spanish cup ties becoming more sporadic.

Ronaldo had been fairly quiet in the group stages, scoring just twice in the opening six matches as Real Madrid progressed to the last 16. It was from the quarter finals and beyond that Zidane’s masterplan truly took effect.

CR7 netted five times over two legs to eliminate Bayern Munich, scored a brace against Atletico Madrid in the semis and twice more in the final itself as Madrid defeated Juventus 4-1 to claim the 2017 Champions League title.

Zidane used an almost identical tactic the following season, resting Ronaldo in other competitions before unleashing him on their 2018 Champions League assault – the result was devastating as Ronaldo scored 15 goals in just 13 games as Real Madrid secured their third consecutive European cup.

The Constant Drive For Success

Cristiano Ronaldo continued his prolific scoring throughout the calendar year, finishing the 2016/2017 season with 42 goals in 44 games for the Spanish giants and scoring 11 times in 11 appearances for Portugal.

He won five domestic trophies in 2017 with Los Blancos in a highly successful period. Real Madrid claimed the 2016/17 La Liga title, Supercopa de España and the 2017 Champions League.

Later that season Madrid secured both the UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup to round off the year. Ronaldo started the 2017/18 campaign in equally impressive form, going on to score 44 goals in 44 appearances.

Crisitiano Ronaldo’s 2017 Ballon d’Or triumph was hard to question. The Portuguese forward had an immense twelve months, reflected in the major honours won and the sheer numbers he produced. Even into his 30’s he displayed the relentless drive for success for which he is famed for and with it the legacy he will leave behind.

2017 Ballon d’Or Top 20

Trivia

• Cristiano Ronaldo’s 12 Champions League goals marked a seventh season in a row that the Portuguese star had hit ten goals or more in European competition.
• In 2016/17, Lionel Messi recorded more than a ‘goal-per-game’ ratio in both La Liga and the Champions League, only the fourth time he would achieve the feat throughout his entire club career.
• Neymar’s third place finish was highly debatable. At club level he won one trophy, helping Barcelona claim the Copa del Rey in 2017. Yet the Brazilian had a poor season by his standards, on the international stage he appeared eight times but scored on just three occasions.