Cristiano Ronaldo is the favourite to claim the 2017 Ballon d’Or award and it’s not hard to see why.
The Portuguese superstar led Real Madrid to a La Liga and Champions League double, scoring his 600th career goal in Real’s win over Juventus last month.
His record in Europe was simply incredible. Ronaldo scored 10 goals in the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final as Los Blancos won the trophy for the 12th time, and third time in four years.
He became the first player to score in three Champions League finals and finished ahead of Lionel Messi with 12 goals.
It’s impossible to get away from his goalscoring record when it comes to Ronaldo.
And one aspect that is often overlooked, or passed off as being significantly inferior to rest of his game, is his ability to create chances.
A video on YouTube, made by Legasus, has sought to dispel that myth.
It’s titled, ‘Cristiano Ronaldo Can’t Playmake? Ok, Explain this’ and features a number of clips of Ronaldo linking up play and creating chances.
You might look at the 32-year-old as being more than just a goalscorer from now on.
Ronaldo vs Beckham
Rio Ferdinand watched Ronaldo’s rise to the top during their time together at Manchester United.
Ronaldo, who arrived from Sporting Lisbon in 2003 before leaving for Real Madrid six years later, took the #7 shirt from David Beckham, who was renowned for his ability to deliver a wicked cross.
But Ferdinand believes it’s impossible to compare the two.
"Very different players,” Ferdinand said last year, per the Mirror. "Ronaldo, his output in terms of goals is not comparable.
"Becks is the best crosser of the ball I've ever seen in my life - he could be running at full speed, look up, radar boot, into the box onto anyone's head.
"But Cristiano probably has more to his game in terms of taking people on, beating people... more explosive, changing a game with a moment of brilliance. But different players. You'd love to have both on your team."
We’ve seen in recent years Messi evolve into more of a playmaker at Barcelona.
And while it may not stand out as much, Ronaldo offers the same at the Bernabeu.