Ronaldo ideal to win European Best Player

Cristiano Ronaldo is the heavy favourite to lift the UEFA Best Player in Europe Award for the first time in his career. The winner will be announced at a gala event in Monaco on 28th August, but the MARCA.com readers have had their say and made it clear that CR7 is their pick.

Almost 100,000 votes were cast in our poll asking you to choose your winner and Ronaldo came out on top by a landslide margin. Some 74.3% of respondents (74,155) plumped for the Portuguese ace, while 14.4% went for Manuel Neuer and 11.3% feel that Arjen Robben deserves the accolade.

Ronaldo has been shortlisted for the award every year since it was established in 2011 but has never garnered the gong. The previous winners are Lionel Messi (2010-11), Andrés Iniesta (2011-12) and Franck Ribéry (2012-13).

However, the Real Madrid star's case looks stronger than ever this year, headed by his 17 goals in last season's Champions League, the last of which came from the penalty spot against Atlético in the final.


/Marca/