Cristiano Ronaldo Tipped to Beat Lionel Messi to Ballon d'Or by Spanish Media

Cristiano Ronaldo is firm favourite to win the 2014 Ballon d'Or on Monday, according to the Spanish press.

Real Madrid's superstar forward, who faces a battle against Manuel Neuer and Lionel Messi to capture his second consecutive prize, is being hotly tipped to walk away with the third Ballon d'Or win of his career. Both AS and Marca outline Ronaldo as the likely winner, as noted by 101 Great Goals:

Sky Sports provided a statistical look at how Ronaldo's numbers compared to Messi throughout last year:

An ongoing poll on Sky Sports News also tasked viewers with voting for their pick. At the time of writing, Ronaldo was shaping up as the clear winner:

Ronaldo's 2014 will mostly be remembered for a stunning 17-goal haul along Madrid's journey to Champions League victory. He scored the last of his record amount in the final victory over Atletico Madrid, securing La Decima in memorable fashion for the side who also won last season's Copa del Rey.

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It's fair to say Ronaldo's showings at the World Cup may have lost him votes. Neuer captured the Golden Glove award while Messi was named the Golden Ball, but neither are expected to add to their individual honours list during the Ballon d'Or gala.

Former Manchester United centre-back Rio Ferdinand, who enjoyed great success with Ronaldo at Old Trafford, believes CR7 deserves to be recognised as the best. Ferdinand spoke during an EA Sports FIFA 15 promotion (h/t Chris Waugh of the MailOnline):

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He’s the best player on the planet. Him or Messi (should win the Ballon d'Or), as they are the best players in the world. Messi was fantastic last year but Ronaldo I think nicked it; he played particularly well scoring lots of goals last year as well. He scored more than Messi last year I think, and he won the Champions League and that sets him apart.

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Neuer's World Cup win and trophy success with Bayern Munich make him a worthy candidate, but it's difficult to overlook the ridiculous goalscoring efficiency of Ronaldo.

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This is a player who has netted 31 goals and provided 10 assists in 22 matches across La Liga and the Champions League this season, per WhoScored.com. He scores all types of goals—rockets from long-range, darting runs, simple tap-ins—to remain a consistent threat no matter the situation.

Both the press and fans appear to be in unanimous agreement about this year's likely victor. Oddschecker.com highlights Ronaldo's positioning as odds-on favourite just hours before the ceremony begins. Football is a game of unlikely results, but this appears nailed on.

Should the expected result come true, Ronaldo will be just one Ballon d'Or behind Messi. Next year's vote will become all the more interesting with this in mind, as the two rivals are expected to once again go head-to-head for football's most wanted individual prize.