Ronaldo favourite for PFA awards

The Chelsea captain, John Terry, has described Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo, who has been nominated by his fellow professionals for both the Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year awards, as "the best in the world".

Ronaldo and United team-mates Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes, as well as Didier Drogba (Chelsea), Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal) and Steven Gerrard (Liverpool) are the nominations for the Professional Footballers' Association Player of the Year award. United's Wayne Rooney and Ronaldo, Fabregas, Kevin Doyle (Reading), Aaron Lennon (Tottenham) and Micah Richards (Manchester City) are the nominees for the PFA Young Player of the Year award.

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But Terry believes Ronaldo is the man to beat for both awards. He said: "I totally admire him after the stick he got after the World Cup. That was understandable after knocking us out of the World Cup with Portugal. But he has dealt with it so well. He has done all his talking on the pitch.

"I could watch Manchester United just to watch him. He does things with the ball that you don't see anyone else in the world doing at the minute. He is the best in the world at the moment.

"When he is at his best I don't think there are many people who can stop him. When he is running at you like he does with his skills and tricks, you don't know which way he is going. A lot of teams double up on him and he has often said he has two players to beat in every game. But you double up on him and then he passes the ball to Wayne Rooney who does the same, so where do you stop? You can't double up on everyone."

The PFA chief executive, Gordon Taylor, joined the chorus of praise, hailing Ronaldo as "the most exciting player in the country". He said: "I was not sure after the World Cup if things would get back to normal at Old Trafford, but Cristiano has shown great maturity and proved himself to be a top, top player.

"All credit to Sir Alex Ferguson for resolving what was a difficult situation. All credit to Cristiano too because he has developed from a player who perhaps used to run down too many closed avenues, to a wonderful entertainer whose tricks and skills are much more constructive, and productive, these days.

"He is much more of a team player now and, as is the test of all great forwards, he knows how to find the back of the net.

"He has still got all the tricks and, if he was to perform them on the stage at the London Palladium, you would have to stand up and applaud. For him to be able to perform them on a football field, at full speed with everything going on around him, makes it all the more remarkable and it is great that Sir Alex encourages him to do so, because at some clubs he might have been told to keep it simple."

The chosen ones

PFA Player of the Year award shortlist: Didier Drogba (Chelsea), Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Ryan Giggs, Cristiano Ronaldo and Paul Scholes (all Manchester United).

PFA Young Player of the Year award shortlist: Wayne Rooney and Ronaldo (both Manchester United), Fabregas (Arsenal), Kevin Doyle (Reading), Aaron Lennon (Tottenham Hotspur) and Micah Richards (Manchester City).