Reasons why Ronaldo would win the Ballon d'or

As French magazine France Football released the 30-man long-list for the 2016 edition of the coveted Ballon d’Or this week, many sport pundits already have a winner for this year’s title.

Many believe Cristiano Ronaldo is the clear favourite after his stunning performance for club and country, which saw the Real Madrid star win a third career Champions League title and then help Portugal to their first ever international silverware at the European Championships.

Other contenders who could challenge the portuguese for the title include Barcelona’s Luis Suarez, who recently won the European Golden Shoe award after finishing last season as the continent’s top league scorer, Neymar, Gareth Bale, Antoine Griezmann and of course, 2015 winner Lionel Messi.