The Best FIFA Men's Player for 2019 | 4 Reasons why Cristiano Ronaldo will not win the Award

Image Courtesy - The Statesman

FIFA recently revealed the final 3 men shortlist for the Best FIFA Men’s Player of the Year. Cristiano Ronaldo made it to the final shortlist once again and he was joined by his rival Lionel Messi and Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk. The winner will be announced in 2 week’s time, in the Best FIFA Football Awards in Milan, on the 23^rd of this month. For the Portuguese though, the signs are not ominous and he might miss out on the coveted award once again.

Ronaldo made the move from Spain to Italy last summer, joining Juventus from Real Madrid in order to take up a new challenge. The Portuguese superstar was fairly successful in his first season with the Italian side, winning the Serie A title and also the Supercoppa Italiana. Over the summer, Ronaldo lifted the inaugural UEFA Nations League trophy with Portugal, which summed up a decent year for him.

However, the Portuguese Superstar is not the front runner for the Best FIFA Men’s Player of 2019 and here are 4 reasons why.

4. Failure to have an impact in the 2018/19 UEFA Champions League

Cristiano Ronaldo came to Turin with the aim to power the Italian giants to the UEFA Champions League title. The Portuguese's record in the tournament was unprecedented and he had already won the coveted trophy with Real Madrid and Manchester United. Juventus have failed to win the premier European Club trophy in recent years and it was one of the reasons why the Serie A Champions had invested heavily in the Portuguese Superstar. However, Ronaldo’s form in the Champions League was sporadic, to say the least.
The Juventus No. 7 had an inauspicious start to the tournament, picking up a red card in the very first match of the group leg. Ronaldo finished the group stages with just 2 goals in 6 games. He did pick up pace in the knockout and ended with 6 goals from 9 games in the tournament. Juventus crashed out of the Champions League in the Quarter Finals against a youthful Ajax side.
Ronaldo’s relatively poor performance in the Champions League and his club’s inability to impress in the tournament put him on the back foot against the other two contenders. Virgil van Dijk won the Champions League, while Lionel Messi finished as the top scorer of the tournament.

3. Finishing 4th in the 2018/19 Serie A Golden Boot race

The Portuguese Skipper was widely expected to become the first player to become the top scorer in 3 different leagues. Cristiano Ronaldo won the Premier League Golden Boot as well as the La Liga Golden Boot in his career. As such, the world expected him to pick up the Serie A Golden Boot in his debut season as well. Unfortunately, the former Real Madrid man had a tougher than expected start to life in Turin.
Ronaldo did still manage to score 21 goals from 31 appearances in the Serie A, however, it was not enough to earn him the top spot in the Serie A Golden Boot race. Veteran Striker Fabio Quagliarella finished as the top scorer of the league, scoring 26 goals from 37 games. Ronaldo finished 4^th behind Duvan Zapata, who scored 23 goals and Krzysztof Piatek who finished with 22 goals.
The Portuguese’s failure to win the Serie A Golden Boot has certainly hurt his chances of winning the Best FIFA Men’s Player of the year.

2. Performance in the UEFA Awards

There was a lot of excitement before the announcement of the UEFA Men’s Player of the Year on 29^th August 2019. It was mostly considered to be a two-horse race between Lionel Messi and Virgil van Dijk, both of whom had been exceptional in the build-up to the awards. Cristiano Ronaldo was in the mix as usual, and also had an outside chance to lift the award. In the end, the result did not go in his favor.
Virgil van Dijk won the UEFA Men’s Player of the Year, by gathering 305 points. Lionel Messi finished second with 207 points, while Ronaldo came third with 74 points. The Dutchman also won the Defender of the Season, while the Argentinean was selected as the Forward of the Season, ahead of the Portuguese.
Ronaldo’s failure to win any award on the night certainly hints that his chances of winning the Best FIFA Men’s Player of the year this term are not very high.

1. Rivals who have performed better

The biggest reason why Cristiano Ronaldo might not win the Best FIFA Men’s Player of the year for 2019 is because of the performance of the players he is competing against. Virgil van Dijk won the UEFA Champions League with Liverpool, as well as the Premier League Player of the Season and the PFA Player’s Player of the Season. The Dutchman was also adjudged as the UEFA Men’s Player of the Year and the UEFA Defender of the Season.
The other man in the mix has not done too badly either. Lionel Messi won the La Liga and the Supercopa de Espana with Barcelona. He ended the season with his 6^th Pichichi Trophy and also a record 6^th European Golden Shoe. Messi scored 51 goals from 49 games in all competitions with Barcelona. He was also elected the UEFA Forward of the Season and despite exiting the UEFA Champions League in the semi-final, ended as the UEFA Champions League Top scorer.
Against the might of these two stalwarts, Cristiano Ronaldo does come up a little short this time. As such, the Portuguese Superstar might finish behind them when the results are declared on the 23^rd of this month.


Stay tuned for more updates on the Best FIFA Men’s Player of the year. Till then, join in the conversation in the comments section, share the article with your friends and be Football Mad!