Ronaldo Installed as Favourite for the Ballon D'Or

Cristiano Ronaldo staked a serious claim for the title of World Player of the Year with a scintillating World Cup hat-trick.An extension to the voting window may now be enough to inch Ronaldo ahead of Barcelona's Lionel Messi and Bayern Munich's Franck Ribery for football's most prestigious award.FIFA announced the extension to the voting deadline after it was revealed that there had been a surprisingly low number of votes cast by the original deadline.The winner of the Ballon D'Or is decided by specially invited coaches and captains, as well as some carefully chosen representative's from the media.Despite winning the award in 2008, Ronaldo has been forced to watch with envy has nemesis Lionel Messi picked up four awards in a row. The voting is thought to be tight, with Franck Ribery reportedly in pole position following a stunning season that saw the Frenchman lift the Bundesliga title, the German cup and the Champions' League. FIFA's Sepp Blatter recently announced that his chosen winner would be Messi, but Ronaldo has scored 13 goals since that statement. With a total of 32 goals in all competitions, however, the former Manchester United starlet has given himself a great chance of winning the award for the second time. Watch Ronaldo in action for yourself. Get your Real Madrid tickets right here.