2017 shapes up to be Messi's year, not Ronaldo's

Dimitris Kontos 7 years ago 4k |

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Ronaldo and Messi during a clasico between Real Madrid and Barcelona. EFE

It seems like a long time ago, but it was only 9 January when FIFA presented Cristiano Ronaldo with its 'The Best' award for 2016.

Looking back at the two major competitions of 2016 it was a well-deserved award too, as the Real Madrid star helped his club add an 11th Champions League trophy and also led his home nation, Portugal, to their first ever Euro conquest.

But if the first month of 2017 is a reliable sample of what we are in store for, this is destined to be Leo Messi's year.

The Barcelona superstar has added a new resource to his already impressive skillset since the start of the year, scoring three goals from free-kicks.

Ronaldo meanwhile has struggled and was subjected to boos from the Bernabeu crowd during Real's last match at the weekend, although Madrid came out 3-0 winners and he was on target once.

These are the figures of the two super-stars during the first month of 2017:

MESSI

Matches played: 8

Minutes played: 720

Goals: 6

Assists: 3

RONALDO

Matches played: 6

Minutes played: 540

Goals: 4

Assists: 1

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