For so long now, the competition for all the top individual awards in football has involved a tug-of-war between Ronaldo and Messi. Following a World Cup where neither Messi nor Ronaldo was able to help their teams reach the later stages of the competition, the door has been opened for other stars to shine. And Croatia and Real Madrid star Luka Modric has taken his chance, putting in a set of fine performances both in his club’s victorious Champions League campaign and his country’s unexpected run to the World Cup final.
Champions League Betting Odds
Ronaldo angered that he did not win Player of the Year
Following Portugal’s early exit from the World Cup, shock news emerged of Ronaldo’s transfer from Real Madrid to Serie A giants Juventus. Since the move, Ronaldo has missed out on the UEFA Player of the Year award, which was won by his former Real Madrid teammate Modric. Far from being graceful in defeat, he refused to turn up at the awards presentation ceremony and as the revealing of the FIFA Best Player winner draws closer, Ronaldo feels that his move to Juventus is the reason for being overlooked.
Ronaldo scores against Frosinone
Ronaldo has, however, been getting on the scoresheet for Juventus in recent games and last night he scored in the 81st minute against Frosinone to break the deadlock. Bernardeschi added a second goal in the 94th minute as Juventus maintained their winning streak, to become the only Serie A team to record five leagues wins out of five this season.
Champions League Betting Odds
Champions League debut ended in tears after a red card
Ronaldo grabbed the headlines for the wrong reasons last week when he was sent off in his Champions League debut for Juventus. The referee showed him a red for pulling an opponent’s hair and then Ronaldo threw himself on the floor in a tantrum-like manner. He then left the pitch in tears with the prospect of missing out on the fixture with his former team Manchester United.
Is this the end of Ronaldo’s illustrious collection of individual awards?
Ronaldo’s move to Juventus was something of a surprise across the football world; yes, he had threatened to leave Madrid before but nobody actually thought he would do it. Of course, the financial package was very attractive for him and he is virtually guaranteed more silverware at the club that has dominated Italian football in recent years. But if he cannot take Juventus to the Champions League final, then he is likely to miss out on the big awards.
