Never has it been more deserved – Cristiano Ronaldo is the new Ballon d’Or holder

Anyone can gush about the stats – and so they should.

Anyone can gush about his single handed attempt at dragging Portugal across the line in the World Cup play-offs – and so they should.

Anyone can go on about his ability to constantly perform, time and time again – and so they should.

Goals, assists, consistency, basically staying injury free.

Outstanding performances for his club, his country and for himself.

Who are we on about? The Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo of course, who has reclaimed the trophy he first won in 2008, and has been eternally searching for ever since.

Real Madrid are on the obsessive quest for La Decima, their tenth Champions League trophy, but Ronaldo has an obsession all of his own. To be crowned the best individual in the footballing world – and that is something he feels should have happened last season as well.

Comments from Sepp Blatter, sections of the media and fans have all affected the number seven, who even considered boycotting the ceremony in Zurich before finally being persuaded to attend.

Anyone who watched the awards last season and saw the face of Ronaldo after Leo Messi was awarded the biggest personal accolade of all will know that to not win it this time around was simply not an option.

It may not have been the best year for Real Madrid, with the all too familiar inner turmoil rearing its ugly head again, but the fact of the matter is the Ballon d’Or is an award for individual brilliance, not team brilliance.

If Franck Ribery had been the stand out Bayern Munich player last term, and literally won them their treble, then he should’ve won it.

The fact however remains that Ribery was great – make no mistake – but so were Manuel Neuer, Philipp Lahm, Arjen Robben et al. It was a team effort and the Bavarians were the best team of last season no question.

The best individual however was the man from Madeira, who netted 66 goals in 55 appearances, and scored all four goals to beat Sweden and send Portugal through to the World Cup in Brazil.

It should have been a given that Ronaldo would be awarded the trophy, but such is FIFA and their love for Messi, nothing was a given and the man himself was visibly emotional upon receiving the trophy.

He struggled to hold back tears as he claimed: ‘There are no words to describe this moment,

‘I want to thank all my colleagues and  companions at Real Madrid, in the Portuguese team and my family who are here  with me.

‘Those who know me, know that many people  help me: my manager, our President,  and I don’t want to forget to mention  Eusebio. My girlfriend and my son  too. I am deeply moved.’

For a player that many consider to be arrogant and full of himself – and it is worth noting here that Ronaldo was not the one in a garish ‘look at me’ red suit – the prolific was humble, grateful and showed exactly how much the award clearly meant to him.

It is also worth noting that the award could not have gone to a more worthy winner.

Did Ronaldo deserve the Ballon d’Or? Let us know your thoughts below.