The Best Player in the World confirmed by Champions League win

Jose Mourinho said that CR could not be considered TBPITW unless he won the Champions League.


Well, he's done it now Jose.

Can there be any doubts now?

Robinho wants The Best Player in the World to join him in Madrid

"I believe that Cristiano Ronaldo is the best player in the world...He is on top; he will play in the Champions League final and must be on the verge of winning the Ballon d'Or. It is always good for players of his standard to come to Real Madrid because the coach will have better options to choose from and that can only be to the advantage of the team."

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Scolari says Ronaldo is The Best Player in the World

"According to me, Ronaldo is the best player in the world...And I hope that he will not just be the best with Manchester United, but also with the national side during Euro...Ronaldo has come on a lot as not only a player, but also and especially as a human being."

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Joe Cole thinks that Messi is better than The Best Player in the World

He's still The Best Player in the World based on our yearly ranking but Chelsea's Joe Cole thinks that there is at least one better player than Cristiano Ronaldo: Lionel Messi:

“I think they are both great players. Ronaldo has been fantastic, but Messi showed in the semi-final that he is the top man...If we could sign him I'd love to play with him. He is only 20 as well, just imagine how good he will be in the next 10 years.”

Now this just may be a case of head games heading into Chelsea's Champions League clash with Cristiano's United but it still counts as a vote for Messi in our books.

Of course it won't hurt his case if Ronaldo becomes a Champions League winner next Wednesday while Messi sits on the sidelines with eliminated Barca. Messi was the best player on the pitch when his team were eliminated by United but its the opinion of many that all Ronaldo has to do is win the Champions League to have the right to be called The Best Player in the World.

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The Best Player in the World is a complete footballer - now

Sportinglife's Martyn Ziegler:

"Now, quite simply, Ronaldo is the best player in the world and the most exciting too. He has it all - proficient with either foot, tremendous speed, brilliant dribbling ability, a vicious shot, a free-kick style that he alone has mastered, a goal-poacher's nose, a powerful physique and strength in the air...Does he have a weakness? Not even his temperament any more, as the occasional tantrums that sometimes surfaced in the past now appear under control. Ronaldo, in fact, is as close as you can get to the complete footballer."

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CNN calls Ronaldo The Best Player in the World

CNN's Greg Duke says:

"...United now have their modern day 'Best' and -- whisper it quietly -- there are many who believe that the current No.7 even surpasses that ultimate superstar of the sixties.
To put it bluntly, Cristiano Ronaldo is the greatest footballer currently playing the game."

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Wes Brown calls Ronaldo The Best Player in the World

"Without a shadow of a doubt he's the best player in the world at the moment...He's taken his game to a different level and I'm sure he'll get more goals this season. I'm just glad he's on our side...Even for his team-mates, it's exciting to watch him when he gets on the ball because you know there's a chance something's going to happen, whether it's him setting up a goal or scoring one. He's capable of producing something out of nothing."

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The Best Player in the World doesn't like the weather in Manchester

"It is hard to live in Manchester...I am very happy here. I want to play here for many more seasons and get even better...The weather might not be great but I'm used to it, it's a great club and that's what's most important."

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Writers say The Best Player in the World is England's Footballer of the Year

FWA Chairman Paul Hetherington:

"Ronaldo's award is no surprise after his brilliant form this season...Our records show he is the most overwhelming winner since Billy Bremner won it in 1970. He did not exactly get 100 percent of the vote, but from the moment voting started he moved to the front and stayed there...To score 38 goals in a season -- so far -- is an astonishing feat for a player who is essentially a winger. Given his age, he has the potential and ability to dominate this award for years in an unprecedented way."

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The Best Player in the World adds grit to his game

"Cristiano Ronaldo took another step towards becoming FIFA'S World Player of the Year on Tuesday but insisted the team was more important than any individual...Manchester United's gifted winger proved he is prepared to put in a hard shift as well as they secured a place in the Champions League final in Moscow next month...Although he failed to improve on his 38-goal tally, Ronaldo's gritty display in the 1-0 defeat of Barcelona only served to emphasise how far he has come this season...He is now widely recognised as the best player in the world after finishing third behind Kaka and Lionel Messi last season."

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Comment: "The Best Player in the World" title is more about "likeability" than anything else

I was blogging somewhere else when I came upon this realization about The Best Player in the World title:

"Right. The kid (Messi) gets injured a lot. Strangely after all of this discussion Goal.com is speculating that Luca Toni could win the Ballon d'Or. But I think that trophy is something different from what we're talking about here. "The Best Player in the World" is about something more than a checklist as you find with the Ballon or the FIFA Player of the Year. There is almost something personal about this term, this title of The Best Player in the World; it almost about how people "feel" about a player. It is powerful because it is a term used casually in conversation and comes naturally from people.

I just don't know if Mourinho is right in saying that Ronaldo needs to win the Champions League to be considered The Best Player in the World.

For me it's about really "liking" a player. And right now I think the world "likes" Messi better than Ronaldo. And that's why Messi needs to play more. For the more he plays, the more likely it is that the world will like him more than any other player."

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Luca Toni could beat The Best Player in the World for Ballon d'Or ?

All the talk has been of Barca's Lionel Messi unseating United's Cristiano Ronaldo as The Best Player in the World. However there is word today that some are thinking that Bayern striker Luca Toni could steal the Ballon d'Or if Germany win Euro 2008.

According to Goal.com:

"Cristiano Ronaldo is currently the red hot favourite to win the prestigious prize following a prolific season for Manchester United, during which he has scored 38 goals so far. However there are reports in the Italian peninsula that Toni could win the prize if the Azzurri were to emerge victorious at Euro 2008. The 30-year-old is having an equally stunning campaign for Bayern Munich, and is the top scorer in the Bundesliga and the UEFA Cup, and has hit 36 goals in all competitions. The Italian has already won the German Cup, is on the verging of capturing the league, and is also in the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup. In the past it has often been big performances at the major international tournaments that has counted most in deciding who wins the European and World Footballer of the Year awards."

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