11.07.2022 » Can Ronaldo win another Ballon d'Or?
Cristiano Ronaldo has already won a total of five Ballon d'Or prizes to his name, with the award going his way in 2008, 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2017. The Portuguese footballer will be hoping to win the award at least one more time before he retires, even though he is well aware that it's going to be more difficult each year. This might also be one of the reasons why Ronaldo is allegedly looking for a new club, especially after Manchester United failed to qualify to the UEFA Champions League. In the meanwhile, let's take a quick look at whether a sixth Ballon d'Or is realistic for a player of Ronaldo's caliber at this point of his career...
Cristiano Ronaldo - His 2021/22 season:
Champions League
The Champions League is an important competition when it comes to determining the Ballon d'Or winner. All the leading players in the world tend to feature in the premier European competition.
If Ronaldo stays at Manchester United, he will be desperate for them to finish in the top four next season after they dropped into the Europa League in the campaign gone. United's rivals Manchester City are the 11-4 favourites in the Champions League betting this season, with Liverpool next best at 5-1. The aim for Erik Ten Hag's side in the 2022/23 campaign will be to close the gap on those two teams in the Premier League, as they set the standard at the moment in Europe, as those odds suggest.
The Europa League is a competition which may still give Ronaldo the chance to win a European trophy. However, it is not seen on the same level as the UEFA Champions League. If United do win the 2022/23 Europa League, it will give them an automatic entry into next year's Champions League, so there's extra motivation.
Goals
Ronaldo proved last season that he remains one of the hottest strikers in Europe. The United forward scored 24 goals in all competitions on his return to the club where he made a name for himself.
The 37-year-old outscored his rival Lionel Messi by 13 goals, as the Argentine was only able to record 11 goals in his debut season for PSG. The Manchester United man scored 18 times in the Premier League, while he found the back of the net six times in seven matches in the Champions League.
Ronaldo will be hoping to keep up his excellent record in front of goal in the 2022/23 campaign and, if he continues to be one of the highest scores across the major leagues in Europe, he is sure to be in the conversation for the Ballon d'Or alongside the likes of Karim Benzema and Robert Lewandowski.
World Cup
This year's World Cup could be the last in Ronaldo's career. Portugal earned the right to be in Qatar courtesy of a play-off final victory over North Macedonia. The 2016 European Champions have been drawn in the same group as Ghana, Uruguay and South Korea.
Ronaldo is Portugal's highest-ever goalscorer with 117 goals for his country. He is also closing in on 200 appearances - a milestone which could be reached at the World Cup.
If their leading talisman can lead his country to the trophy, or at the very least the latter stages of the tournament, that will really help his chances of winning the Ballon d'Or. Luca Modric won the prize in 2018 as he was instrumental in helping Croatia reach the final where they were beaten 4-2 by France.
Expect to see Ronaldo continue to do what he does best next season and beyond, as there are no signs of the all-time great slowing down just yet.
Cristiano Ronaldo next game for Manchester United is on July 12, against Liverpool. You can watch Manchester United vs Liverpool, Real Madrid vs Barcelona, Olot vs Barça, Manchester City vs Club America, Everton vs Arsenal, and Kawasaki vs PSG, all matches provided from our live football game pages.
Manchester United next game:
Manchester United vs Liverpool kick-off time (12-07-2022):
Beijing (China) | UTC/GMT+8: 21:00
Jakarta (Indonesia) | UTC/GMT+7: 20:00
India (New Delhi) | UTC/GMT+5.30: 18:30
Italy (Turin) | UTC/GMT+2: 15:00
Spain (Madrid) | UTC/GMT+2: 15:00
Portugal and England (Lisbon/London) | UTC/GMT+1: 14:00
Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) | UTC/GMT-3: 10:00
New York (United States) | UTC/GMT-4: 09:00
Los Angeles (United States) | UTC/GMT-7: 06:00
Sources: ronaldo7.net / theguardian.com / bbc.co.uk
