Champions League: Will Cristiano Ronaldo beat Lionel Messi to the Ballon d'Or after his quarter-final hat-trick?

The Real Madrid forward is making a decent case

Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates on his way to scoring a hat-trick for Real Madrid (Getty)

With doubts over the form of Lionel Messi taking over social media – FOUR games without a goal! - Cristiano Ronaldo’s hat-trick to take Real Madrid into the last four of the Champions League for a sixth successive season displayed the Portuguese’ endearing class and consistency.

With Real struggling, and Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema in differing states of form and fitness, Zinedine Zidane could again count on his Portuguese prince, who seems to be getting better with age.

Showcasing his clinical touch in the six-yard box and dominance in the air with his first two goals, the 31-year-old completed the set with a swerving free-kick so powerful that the Wolfsburg wall could only hope to block and rip up the scripts that Ronaldo continues to write.

Having ceded the Ballon d’Or to Messi earlier this year, the Portuguese is, as ever, making a pretty forceful case to reclaim the title. The chance of an El Clasico double in the semi-finals – should Barcelona hang on in the second leg against Atletico on Wednesday – would be a showdown for the whole of football to savour.