ronaldo award

If he does end up with the award he will match Messi's four and this time

there will be no need to share the honour with Luis Suarez as he did last year.

The domestic goals tally matters to him; you only have to observe his

frustration when a team-mate scores instead of him as happened with Gareth

Bale earlier this season to appreciate that.

But this week his focus and the focus of the football world will be on the two

players' European tallies. It is so often said that they score so many in La Liga

because it's easier to score in Spain but that never really explains why they

are both so lethal in the European Cup.

Last week the world watched Messi beat the planet's best keeper Manuel

Neuer and then leave one of Europe's top defenders Jerome Boateng on his

backside in the penalty area. Messi pulled the strings in the 3-2 defeatin the

return leg, but left goalscoring duties to Neymar, who hit two.

On Wednesday it could be the turn of Ronaldo whose goal against Juventus in

Turin gave Real Madrid a lifeline in the semi-final and set the stage for him to

push them over the line and into the final if he can take the chance.

For the last seven years Ronaldo and Messi have been winning the boots and

the balls – there's an awful lot of gold between them. Berlin may well be the

stage for their ultimate showdown.

The two players star for nations that have under-achieved in recent years and

that has deprived us of a major World Cup fixture that pits the two men against

each other but Barca and Madrid have clashed in club competition… and this

time it could be in the final. The final to decide the European champions – and

the final word in this season's battle for Champions League top-scorer status.

Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi: UEFA Champions League 2014/15

JUMP TO...

NEXT STORIES

Cristiano Ronaldo put Real Madrid ahead but hopes of defending the

Champions League were dashed

Ronaldo winces as Juventus hit back through Alvaro Morata to reach the final

in Berlin

Messi drew a blank against Bayern in Bavaria, but he will have another

chance to pip his great rival

Messi's double against Bayern on May 6 took his tally to 77 goals in 97

Champions League games

Messi has been crowned with the four Ballon d'Or award four times in his

illustrious career

Ronaldo has won the award three times - including the last two years