Ronaldo, 32, won his fourth crown last year after netting the winning penalty in the Champions League final and leading Portugal to a shock Euro 2016 title.
That took to him just one win behind his great Barcelona rival.
And Ronaldo is set for further glory this term with Madrid on course to become the first-ever back-to-back winners of Europe’s premier club competition – as well as being commanding favourites for the La Liga crown.
Front page of France Football asks ‘who can catch Ronaldo now?’Ronaldo looks set to beat Messi to the coveted crown again this yearGetty Images
And it would appear that form has made him a shoo-in for individual glory at the December awards – as the French publication points out: “Has the race finished? Not necessarily, but the progress of CR7 is almost irreversible.
“To catch him, they will have to impress a lot. And fast.”
Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hat-trick for Real Madrid in first leg triumph over Atletico at BernabeuGetty ImagesRonaldo’s treble followed five strikes against Bayern Munich in the quartersGetty ImagesRonaldo is clearly offside before scoring his second goal of second-leg hat-trick against BayernBT Sport
But who are the other candidates? Incredibly, Messi does not even feature in their four-man shortlist.
Juventus keeper Gigi Buffon is named as “the only true rival” to Ronaldo, while Atletico striker Antoine Griezmann and Monaco wonderkid Kylian Mbappe are also mentioned.
France Football add: “Messi will not play in the semi-finals of the Champions League for the second consecutive year.
“The last winner of the Ballon d’Or that won without playing in them was Fabio Cannavaro in 2006. In July, the Italian won the World Cup. That will not be the case for Messi, at least not this year.”
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Lionel Messi's winner against Real Madrid was the 500th competitive Barcelona goal of his glittering careerRex FeaturesMessi scored a sublime last-second winner for Barcelona at the BernabeuGetty ImagesGianluigi Buffon and Kylian Mbappe are named as potential winnersEPA
Unsurprisingly, the article has gone down like a lead balloon in Barcelona.
Catalan daily Mundo Deportivo calls the article a “scandal” - with seven months to go until the ceremony.
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