Gunning for Ronaldo: Messi and Aubameyang ahead as 2017 race begins
The Real Madrid talisman won the Best FIFA Men's Player award - but how is he performing compared to his rivals since the start of 2016-17?
Cristiano Ronaldo has been named The Best FIFA Men's Player for 2016, beating Lionel Messi and Antoine Griezmann to the honour.
The Real Madrid forward added to his victory in the Ballon d'Or with another individual triumph at Monday's ceremony in Zurich.
It caps a superb year for Ronaldo, who also won the Champions League and Club World Cup with Madrid, as well as Euro 2016 with Portugal.
But is Ronaldo really performing better than his rivals?
With the help of Opta data, we compare his club statistics from the start of the 2016-17 season to see if his trajectory points towards another individual accolade next year as the race for 2017's top honours begins.
GOALS
After scoring 51 times in 48 appearances at club level last season, Ronaldo has 17 in 20 across all competitions in 2016-17.
Eternal rival Messi is already eight clear of him having played in two additional matches, while Borussia Dortmund's Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has impressively raced to 20.
Ronaldo, though, is clear of Luis Suarez and Antoine Griezmann, while Neymar is still down in single figures.
25 – Messi (22 appearances) 20 – Aubameyang (22 apps) 17 – RONALDO (20 apps) 15 – Suarez (23 apps) 11 – Griezmann (23 apps) 6 – Neymar (20 apps)
MINUTES PER GOAL
Messi's astonishing record of one goal for every 73 minutes played this season puts him well clear of the competition, with the prolific Aubameyang clearly beating Ronaldo as well.
The numbers suggest these two will be the main obstacles to Ronaldo claiming further individual recognition in 2017.
73.4 - Messi 94.6 – Aubameyang 104.3 – RONALDO 126.7 – Suarez 179.8 – Griezmann 297.3 - Neymar
ASSISTS
Neymar has been lacking in goals but is the clear leader when it comes to setting up his team-mates, with Messi and Ronaldo closely matched in pursuit. Aubameyang, meanwhile, trails in this department.
13 – Neymar 7 – Messi 6 – RONALDO 6 – Suarez 6 - Griezmann 4 – Aubameyang
MINUTES PER GOAL INVOLVEMENT
Minutes per goal involvement combines goals and assists to provide a combined statistic of players' attacking production.
Messi has been comfortably involved in the most goals during his time on the pitch, scoring or assisting once every 57 minutes.
REVEALED: Messi & Ronaldo's votes
Ronaldo and Aubameyang are evenly matched and clear of Suarez, Neymar and Griezmann.
57.3 – Messi 77.1 - RONALDO 78.8 – Aubameyang 90.5 – Suarez 93.8 – Neymar 116.4 – Griezmann
CHANCES CREATED
Messi is also faring significantly better than Ronaldo when it comes to chances created, with Aubameyang well down the list that is topped by Neymar.
62 – Neymar 49 – Messi 41 - Griezmann 27 – Suarez 25 – RONALDO 24 – Aubameyang