3 reasons why Ronaldo should not be named The Best FIFA Men's Player
The third edition of The Best FIFA awards takes place on Monday, September 24, 2018, at the Royal Festival Hall in London.
After an initial shortlist of ten players, FIFA shortened the list down to three nominees viz; current holder Cristiano Ronaldo who enjoyed another stellar campaign with Real Madrid whom he led to a third consecutive Champions League title, Mo Salah had his excellent debut campaign with Liverpool where he broke a plethora of records including for most goals scored in a 38 game Premier League season rewarded with a nomination, as well as Luka Modric who helped Real win the UCL, as well as put in a Golden Ball winning performance to lead his country to her first ever World Cup final appearance.
Cristiano Ronaldo in addition to being the current holder holds the distinction of being the only man to have won the award, having won each of the two awards since it was inaugurated in 2016.
The Portuguese' exploits last season and abundance of fans worldwide has seen him installed as the favourite for the award in the opinion of many people, however, just like the UEFA awards held in August, Ronaldo could be set for disappointment in his quest to win yet another personal accolade. Here are three reasons why Ronaldo should not be named the FIFA Best Men's Player.
#3 His World Cup campaign was less than stellar
Ronaldo kicked off his 2018 World Cup journey in the most spectacular way possible, scoring a hat-trick against 2010 champions Spain in a 3-3 draw, and breaking multiple records in the process, including becoming European football's all-time highest international goalscorer, and second only to Ali Daei.
He followed that up with a header in the 4th minute against Morocco, which proved to be the winning strike and moved his country to the top of the tables level with Spain on 4 points. However, from there on, he largely failed to impress.
Ronaldo was unspectacular in the final game of the group against Iran and missed a crucial penalty which might have been more consequential had Iran been more clinical in front of goal.
He put in another anonymous performance against Uruguay in the round of 16 as La Celeste progressed courtesy of Edinson Cavani's brace in a 2-1 victory.
Traditionally, World Cup performance has been used to decide FIFA awards in a World Cup year, a practice which was highly clamoured for following its non-usage for the 2010 and 2014 awards due to being merged with the Ballon d'Or.
With the re-introduction of a separate FIFA award in 2016, it is only right that a FIFA individual accolade should go to the best performing player at the 2018 World Cup, and no matter how unpopular the decision may be, that player should not be Ronaldo.