How good of a year has it been for Cristiano Ronaldo? Well, individually, it might have been his best. He scored 69 goals and added 17 assists in all competitions for Real Madrid and Portugal, but his mood might depend on whether or not he wins the Ballon d’Or for 2013.

In terms of titles, it’s been awful. Ronaldo loves talking about how much he’s playing to win team titles and cares nothing for the individual ones, but it’s easy to see through that lie. Real Madrid finished second in the title race, lost in the Champions League semifinal to Borussia Dortmund and even in the Copa Del Rey final to Atletico Madrid.

How are things going this season? They are third in the Spanish La Liga, five points behind the leaders (Atletico and Barca). In the Champions League things went a bit more smoothly, dropping only two points as they finished first in the group. Ronaldo himself set a new record for goals in the group stage, finding the net nine times in six matches. He’s also the leading scorer in the La Liga at the moment with 18 goals in 16 matches.

Was he the best player in the world this year? Or is he going to win the award just because of politics? It probably depends on your basic opinion of who is a better player – Messi or Ronaldo, and if team awards, like the one Ronaldo doesn’t have to show for this year, are more important, giving Franck Ribery the edge.

Maybe his performance for Portugal in the World Cup qualification playoffs, scoring a hat trick against Sweden in the second leg, will help him in his cause for his own brand of justice.