The bookmaker's favourite to usurp Lionel Messi as Player of the Year and scoop the prestigious Ballon d'Or, no World XI would be complete without Cristiano Ronaldo. The Real Madrid hitman plundered a perfect 34 Liga goals in 34 appearances for his side last season and an equally-perfect 12 in 12 Champions League games to finish as the competition's top scorer. Throw in a breathtaking five hat-tricks and the fact he scored 66 goals in 55 games in 2013, and it's easy to see why he's head and shoulders above the rest. One of those five hat-tricks came against Sweden in November as Ronaldo helped Portugal to the World Cup finals, where he is again expected to shine in 2014.
Joseph is an accredited football journalist and has interviewed nearly all of the current 20 Barclay's Premier League managers. He is also a correspondent for Bleacher Report and has written for Caught Offside and Give Me Football.
