Ronaldo, favorite to win FIFA Ballon d'Or

ANKARA

The Portuguese skipper has given his country a fighting chance of success in Brazil next summer after scoring all four goals over the two legs as they beat the Swedes 4-2 in aggregate.

Cristiano Ronaldo is the new favourite for the FIFA Ballon d'Or after his hat-trick fired Portugal to the World Cup finals.

The Portuguese could be officially named the world's best footballer for the first time since 2008 after a stunning year in which he has scored 66 goals in 55 games. He finished top scorer in last season's Champions League and has plundered 32 goals from his opening 20 games of the new term.

The original deadline expired last Friday but the new date (November 29)  has been set to take into account this week’s World Cup play-off games, something that could work in favour of Real Madrid striker Cristiano Ronaldo, who notched a stunning hat-trick in Portugal’s victory over Sweden to include themselves in the world's biggest football event next year in Brazil.

FIFA confirmed that the date for Ballon d'Or nominations has been put back due to a low number of responses, while those who have submitted can change their mind. The prize will be presented in Zurich on January 13.

The following 23 footballers are in contention for the FIFA Ballon d’Or 2013:

Gareth Bale (Wales), Edinson Cavani (Uruguay), Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal), Radamel Falcao (Colombia), Eden Hazard (Belgium), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Sweden), Andres Iniesta (Spain), Philipp Lahm (Germany), Robert Lewandowski (Poland), Lionel Messi (Argentina), Thomas Müller (Germany), Manuel Neuer (Germany), Neymar (Brazil), Mesut Ozil (Germany), Andrea Pirlo (Italy), Franck Ribery (France), Arjen Robben (Netherlands), Bastian Schweinsteiger (Germany), Luis Suarez (Uruguay), Thiago Silva (Brazil), Yaya Toure (Côte d’Ivoire), Robin Van Persie (Netherlands), Xavi (Spain).

The FIFA Ballon d'Or  is a football award given annually to the player who is considered to have performed the best in the previous year. It is awarded based on votes by coaches and captains of international teams, as well as journalists from around the world.

Ronaldo and Bayern Munich’s Franck Ribery are considered the favourites for the  award that has been monopolised for the past four years by another contender, Barcelona’s Lionel Messi, and Ribery also did his chances no harm by starring in France’s 3-0 victory over Ukraine in Paris.

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