'The Best': Ronaldo favourite to retain his title

The 32-year-old has been named on a three-man shortlist for the award alongside PSG's Neymar and Barcelona forward Lionel Messi.

It will come as little surprise that the Real Madrid man has been named the early favourite to take home the award, with Ronaldo, who took home last year's prize, having enjoyed a fine season last season.

The Portugal international helped his side to a Champions League and La Liga double, before topping that off with victories in both the domestic and European Super Cups. With that in mind, it is fair to say that Ronaldo ticks all the boxes.

It may surprise some but last season was Real's first League and European Cup double since 1957/58 and only the third in their long and trophy-laden history, something that only highlights further the significance of Ronaldo's contribution.

Whilst it would be easy to say that those triumphs were team victories rather than Ronaldo's own, the forward was undoubtedly the driving force behing his side's success, scoring 42 goals in 46 games in all competitions.

His goals in the Champions League were particularly significant, with the former Manchester United man scoring 10 in five games between the quarter-final and the final as his side claimed their 12th European Cup.

Ronaldo's goals in the last few weeks of the league season also helped his side to the League title, though his start to the new season has been disrupted by alleged tax problems and his suspension for pushing a referee.

In reality, one could easily make a case for any of Messi, Ronaldo or Neymar winning the award but Ronaldo will be quietly confident that he has done enough to retain his title of 'The Best'.