Cristiano Ronaldo will battle Lionel Messi and Manuel Neuer for the Ballon d'Or in Zurich on Monday night. Here, PETE JENSON argues why the Real Madrid and Portugal superstar should be crowned the world's best player. The greatest individual feat in football in 2014 was Cristiano Ronaldo’s 17 Champions League goal-haul that smashed the scoring record for one season in the competition and helped Real Madrid finally land the their 10th European Cup. For so long Ruud van Nistelrooy’s 12 goal-campaign for Manchester United in 2003 had set the bar but then first Messi with 15 and Ronaldo with 17 took the standard to new levels.
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Cristiano Ronaldo's 17 Champions League goals smashed the record
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It helped Real Madrid land their 10th European Cup
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Ronaldo  shared the Golden Shoe with Luis Suarez for his 31 goals
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Ronaldo should win the Ballon d'Or for his superb Champions League run
@placeholder wasn’t even the best goalkeeper in the tournament so his place on the podium is contestable