Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti has expressed who he believes deserves this year's Ballon d'Or, and unsurprisingly, it is Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo.
Ronaldo, who beat out Barcelona ace Lionel Messi to the coveted award last year, guided Los Blancos to a record-breaking 10th Champions League trophy, La Decima, last season, and followed that up with a UEFA Super Cup title.
The 29-year-old has kicked off this campaign extremely well, and is already topping the goalscoring charts with a whopping 13 goals after only seven games as the former Manchester United man bagged his third hat-trick in four La Liga games in Real Madrid's 5-0 win over Athletic Bilbao.
All this has merited Ronaldo a third Ballon d'Or award. in the eyes of Les Merengues' Italian boss, as the former AC Milan manager was impressed by his team after their convincing win at Santiago Bernabeu, this Sunday.
"I think there can be no doubt about Cristiano for the Ballon d’Or this year," Ancelotti argued. "There’s no putting money on it.
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The Real Madrid boss made these comments after the Portuguese star scored a hat-trick against Athletic Bilbao this Sunday, his third in four La Liga outings
“All three of our forwards were fantastic [against Athletic]. Cristiano and [Karim] Benzema scored but Gareth Bale made assists and worked hard.
“It’s essential to work together. The midfield was good, too.
“With the ball we have three in midfield and without it, Bale helps us defend and makes a line of four. James Rodriguez then moves to the left. We’re adapting and eager to learn.
“This was our best game, much better than last year at this point. What we need now is continuity.
"We were more attentive at set-pieces and kept a clean sheet. Everything went well.”
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