Cristiano Ronaldo won the 2016 Ballon d'Or on Monday, but does he deserve it given that his long-standing rival Lionel Messi has scored more goals and provided more assists this year?
Read: Final Ballon d'Or Ranking Revealed
The Portuguese capped off a dream year with the highest individual trophy, collecting his fourth Ballon d'Or award.
He was the favourite to lift the accolade after guiding Real Madrid to the UEFA Champions League title and captaining Portugal to their first ever UEFA European Championship triumph.
However, many believe that Messi was more deserving of the award in 2016, especially when one delves into the statistics.
The Argentine won the La Liga and Copa del Rey titles with FC Barcelona and guided Argentina to the final of the Copa America, where they lost to Chile on penalties.
Messi has netted 58 goals and claimed a further 32 assists in 61 appearances for club and country in 2016 so far.
Ronaldo, meanwhile, has scored 51 goals (seven less than the Albiceleste captain) and assisted another 17 strikes (15 less than Messi) in 55 appearances, which means, overall, he has been involved in 22 goals less than his rival.
In the end, small margins decided this year's award, even though Ronaldo won it with 745 voting points compared to Messi's 316.
The Portuguese, for example, scored the winning penalty in Real's Champions League triumph over Atletico, while Messi missed a crucial spot-kick – his side's first – in the shootout in the Copa America final.
Read: 10 Stars Who Say Ronaldo Deserves Ballon d'Or
Whether Ronaldo or Messi deserved the award, let us take a moment to appreciate the unbelievable goalscoring records and personal milestones they are achieving because they will not be around forever.
Do you think Messi deserved the award more than Ronaldo? Have your say in the comments section below.
