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Messi Wins Fourth Ballon D'Or Ahead Of Cristiano Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo failed to win this year’s Ballon d’Or. Instead, the award was given to Barcelona ace Lionel Messi ahead of the Portuguese international and fellow Barca teammate Andrés Iniesta.

Denis Doyle

In 2012, Ronaldo had a fantastic year for both club and country. On a club level, Ronaldo scored 46 goals for Real Madrid in the league and 60 goals in all competitions, all coming from 55 games. This meant he became the first player to score 40 goals or more in a single La Liga season two years in a row. Ronaldo's goals helped his side claim their first La Liga title since 2008. His most notable performance came at the Nou Camp against Barcelona in the league. In that match, he scored a goal and won it for Real, a result proving to be one of the most decisive in their league campaign, handing Real Madrid the title.

Another record that Ronaldo broke was being the first player to score against every side in a Liga season. For a long time, Ronaldo had long been overshadowed by Messi in Clásicos, but for the past few games including last season’s fixture, he became the first player to score in six consecutive games against Barcelona. Ronaldo’s good form also carried on to other competitions as well, helping his side claim the Super Cup against none other than Messi and company.

Ronaldo's figures for 2012

60 – The number of goals he scored in all competitions for Real Madrid

46 – The number of goals he scored in La Liga

10 – Number of goals and games played in the Champions League

6 – Number of consecutive Classico games he has scored in

171 – The number of goals he has for Real Madrid (their seventh all time top scorer)

Messi’s figures for 2012

91 – The number of goals he scored for both club and country in a single calendar year

73 – The number of goals he scored in La Liga

29 – Number of assists provided in 2012

79 – The number of goals scored for his club alone

12 – Number of goals scored for Argentina in just nine games

9 – Number of hat-tricks he scored for both club and country in 2012

50 – Number of goals scored in single season for Barca

14 – Number of goals scored in the 2011-2012 Uefa Champions league

2 – Number of hat-tricks scored in a single champions league season

5 – Number of goals scored in a single match in the champions league

If Ronaldo wants to win next year's Ballon D'Or, he will need to climb a very high mountain. He already is 11 goals behind Messi in the league and a goal behind Falcao.

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