The Best FIFA Football Awards ™ – News – Cristiano Ronaldo: an evergreen icon

• Cristiano Ronaldo is a regular at The Best FIFA Football Awards ™
• The Portuguese Juve star enjoyed one more year to remember
• Records falling with both the club and the country

Cristiano Ronaldo must feel right at home at The Best FIFA Football Awards ™. Winner in 2016 and 2017, runner-up in 2018 and third in 2019, the Portugal star is a familiar face at the awards ceremony. And after another impressive year, it’s no surprise to see him again among the finalists for The Best FIFA Football Awards ™ 2020.

Once again, Ronaldo racked up numbers that would be staggering for almost any other player, not least scoring 35 goals in 31 games (as of December 12), even if stats of that caliber have become routine for a man used to it. to accumulate records.

Ronaldo’s year in brief

• Winner of Serie A
• Runner-up in the Italian Cup
• UEFA Champions League round of 16
• Second top scorer in Serie A
• First player to score 50 goals in the Premier League, Liga and Serie A
• Juventus’ top scorer in a single season (37 goals in 2019/20)
• First European player to reach 100 international goals
• The second top international scorer of all time behind Ali Daei

Ronaldo’s year in pictures

Memorable matches

January 6, 2020
Serie A, matchday 18
Juventus 4-0 Cagliari

Ronaldo, who had joined Juventus a year and a half earlier, had already terrified many Serie A defenders, but had yet to score a top flight hat-trick in Italy. The Portugal striker put it into practice in early 2020 with Sardinian Cagliari as his victims. Ronaldo found the back of the net three times, burying left and right foot kicks and converting a penalty to become the second player to score triples in the Premier League, Liga and Serie A after Chile’s Alexis Sánchez. Not happy with that, he also gave an assist to Gonzalo Higuaín as you ran out of winners 4-0. Having risen to the top of the rankings the week before, The old womanhe never left the summit, as Ronaldo clinched a seventh league title overall and a second in Italy.

September 8, 2020
UEFA Nations League, Group A, matchday two
Sweden 0-2 Portugal

Sixteen years after his first international goal, Ronaldo celebrated his 100th and quickly added a 101st for good measure. With a superb free kick and a great lob, he recorded both of Portugal’s goals in a win against Sweden and became the first European player in history to score a century of international goals. He is the only active male player to pass that milestone and has since increased his score to 102 goals in 170 international matches. Only Ali Daei of Iran has scored more in the men’s game, and his total of 109 now appears to be seriously threatened. With UEFA EURO 2020 on the horizon, as well as the qualifiers for the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup ™, it is surely only a matter of time before Portugal’s all-time top scorer adds the honor of becoming the top scorer. All-time scorer in the stage selection.

December 8, 2020
UEFA Champions League, Group G, matchday 6
Barcelona 0-3 Juventus

It is almost impossible to mention one without the other. The rivalry between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi has been without a doubt the most exciting subplot of the last 15 years in the world of football. Since Ronaldo left Real Madrid, it has become rare to see the duo go head-to-head, and fans were deprived of a reunion in October when the Juventus ace missed his team’s Champions League fixture with Barcelona due to COVID-19. That meant all eyes were on the second leg as rival geniuses met their teams as far as the round of 16. Messi was silent during The Blaugrana, but Ronaldo scored a couple of penalties to help I Bianconeriseal first place and extend their own lead at the top of the all-time European Cup goal standings: 134-118.

What he said

“Winning Serie A again in such a difficult year is something we are very proud of. On a personal level, scoring 37 goals with Juventus and 11 with the national team makes me look to the future with renewed ambition and desire to do better and better every year. “

“750 goals, 750 happy moments, 750 smiles on the faces of our fans. Thanks to all the players and coaches who helped me reach this incredible number, thanks to all my loyal opponents who made me work harder every day.”

What they say

“Messi the talent, Ronaldo the hard work … I have listened to him for 15 years and frankly, for me it is silly. Messi has a gift from heaven, for sure. He is one of the best in history, if not. better, but to tell me that Cristiano cares about hard work more than talent … what does that mean? Does it mean that if he had worked as hard as him, it would be just as good? No, that’s not Cris has so much, so much talent. He has worked enormously, yes, even more than everyone else, but they cannot be contrasted in terms of talent. You cannot reduce his entire career to hard work. “
Medhi Benatia |

“He is a unique talent. What he does in games, his statistics, everything about him is exceptional. He is a competitor in training and that can be seen on the court. He has many qualities in his game. What makes him stand out from others. is that he stands out in all aspects. Besides that, he is a really nice person. He really is very kind and caring. “
Danilo

“He can play until he’s 40. He is someone who takes care of himself, eats well, rests well and lives for football. He is the best professional I have ever played with.”
Ryan giggs

“What makes him an extraordinary player, beyond his technique, is his consistency. He never lets the smallest detail go against him. We return from trips out at two in the morning and, at three, he changes. and jumps into the cold water to recover. He’s always focused on being the best. He’s a war machine. “
Leonardo Bonucci