ABOVE:European
double...Euros(left)
andChampions
League(right)2016 WORLD PLAYER OF THEYEAR Points
CristianoRonaldo(RealMadrid&Portugal) 842
LionelMessi(Barcelona&Argentina) 712
AntoineGriezmann(AtleticoMadrid&France) 559
LuisSuarez(Barcelona&Uruguay) 498
GarethBale(RealMadrid&Wales) 497
Neymar(Barcelona&Brazil) 405
RiyadMahrez(LeicesterCity&Algeria) 134
RobertLewandowski(BayernMunich&Poland) 117
N’GoloKante(LeicesterCity/Chelsea&France) 93
JamieVardy(LeicesterCity&England) 87Cristiano
Ronaldo
s itasceebration. Hisevoution wasa reality. It was
gitiate to wonder abouthis decline. It is lgitimate.
e afactof
centseasons,someofwhich he hasreachd theline
lokig like,we,ike someonereachingthe line.Heis
plaerfor whom physical conditionhas ben vitally
otanttoo;anathlete as well as afootbaler.
heend of last season Zinedine Zidaneaid that he
l ike himtorestmoreoften;Ronaldo hiselfaterfinally
d that maybeheneeds toearnto“rtion” himsef.
asa surprise:unexpectedy,henownowsthat
tiontoalwaysbeout theremight be detrimental.
therclues,too.His tactical evoution –ess
red,his eors more sharplyfocsed,the
ies smalerbut just as decisive –has been
reaity butt is asoa sign of hiintelligence.
ysapparso, butheknows hislimitsand
iscaer, alongwiththe abitionand
e last18 months,iths heped him
through.Because he always wantssuccess,alays demands
more, andifthatisthe waytoget it,thenthatiswhathewill
do. Oneayhewilgiveupand he wisay “tht’s enough”,
but if onthing defies himitisthatit’snevernough.
No, hwas notperfectast year;no, hisperormances
werenot always as briliantasinpreviousseasns, butit
ended ubeing thebestofall.Hescored 51
provided 15 assists on course to twoEuropeatites. He
neededtam-matesmorethanbefore, butthat’sfine. “We
did it togthe,hehad tod them.Hewas gratful to them,
repeatedlysayingthank you, wantingtoshare it with them.
Onthday hiscontractextension wasannounced,one
newspapr noted, notentirey unfairly,thatitame at a
“critical ”. “ rough hiswst
era,” it said.Ifony becauseofhis age, that wasatura.
But “orst” is relative andlookhow it hadended;tw
Europeatitles, thehappiestmomentofhis lif. An e
doesn’t itendtostopyet.Madrid’snextgamew
Atetico adrid away.Ronaldo scored ahat-t