Cristiano Ronaldo Dwarfs Lionel Messi in Ballon D'Or Race, Says Carlo Ancelotti

Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti doesn't believe this season's Ballon d'Or prize is up for discussion because Cristiano Ronaldo already has it in the bag.

Speaking after Ronaldo scored an incredible third hat-trick in four games, Ancelotti appeared doubtless when determining whether Lionel Messi could push his player for the prize, per Eurosport: "This year, I don't think there is much doubt. I don't think there's any point in even talking about it."

Ancelotti was never going to put Messi up for the award over his own forward, but Ronaldo's stunning start to the season is exceptional even by his standards. He has scored 13 goals in six La Liga appearances and two in a duo of Champions League displays.

Squawka tweeted a further selection of stats:

Of course, Messi has also been firing for Barcelona and is currently second favourite to win the individual prize behind Ronaldo, per Oddschecker. The Argentinian has six goals in seven domestic appearances and also netted against Paris Saint-Germain in Europe. Messi already has seven assists to his name across both competitions, while Ronaldo has created just two goals for his colleagues.

Andres Kudacki/Associated Press

Both players have shrugged off major injury concerns to post some of their best performances in recent times. Ronaldo finished last season with a worrying tendinosis problem in his left knee and struggled through the World Cup as a result. He has suffered ankle and back niggles in recent times, but he appears to have shrugged concerns off to get Madrid firing.

Likewise, Messi entered 2014 with serious pain in his hamstring. He rarely hit top form upon his immediate return, but he utilised the World Cup and pre-season to get back into shape. The 27-year-old has been key to Luis Enrique's new-look Barca side in the early weeks of transition, in which he looks hungrier to receive the ball and more confident progressing up the pitch than he did at the start of the year.

Ronaldo poses great threat to Messi's 2011-12 record of 50 La Liga goals in a single season. It's ridiculous that, just two years after this was set, the number could extend itself once more. Madrid's star currently averages 2.167 goals per game and would reach the 80-goal mark if he maintained this form throughout the entire campaign, per Eurosport.

Andres Kudacki/Associated Press

While this is highly unlikely—Ronaldo would need to remain fully fit and at the top of his powers to reach this—he is capable of racking up more than 50 goals. Let's not forget, Los Blancos have already faced quality teams, including Villarreal and Athletic Bilbao, with Ronaldo scoring four out of seven accumulated against them.

Most sides don't match up to the quality on offer from the aforementioned opponents (despite Athletic's poor start), so plenty more braces and triples are likely to follow. Fixtures against Levante and Granada sandwich El Clasico next for Madrid, providing Ronaldo with the perfect opportunity to further outline his Ballon d'Or credentials with significant goals in the title race.

Alfredo Relano of AS describes a player who can score "with both legs, his head, from distance, from close range. And with penalties and free kicks." He calls Ronaldo's numbers "from another era," recalling the days when a supremely fit and able talent was able to bypass the threat of rivals who weren't in optimum shape.

At times, both Ronaldo and Messi have the ability to make world-class opposition appear unworthy of sharing the same turf.

Andres Kudacki/Associated Press

Both players are judged on a completely different scale to the majority of football stars. Messi was said to be widely off his game after netting 28 La Liga goals in 31 appearances last season, as approximately one goal per game just isn't enough. Ronaldo is firmly demolishing such fears right now, but he'll likely be deemed "out of form" if he fails to net in two consecutive matches, such is the unfair demand.

Even so, he remains the outstanding candidate for this year's Ballon d'Or. Messi will surely make up some marks for leading Argentina to the World Cup final and landing the tournament's Golden Ball, but judging across the breadth of the calendar year so far, the 2014 Ballon d'Or is destined to remain in the Spanish capital.

Stats via WhoScored.com unless otherwise noted.