Past winners of the prestigious FIFA Golden Ball, awarded to the top player at each World Cup, include Pele, Johan Cruyff, Diego Maradona, Zinedine Zidane and, most recently, Uruguay’s Diego Forlan in 2010. In a look at who may emerge as one of the 2014 World Cup’s stand-out names, TODAY deputy sports editor Tan Yo-Hinn (yohinn [at] mediacorp.com.sg) shifts the focus to Cristiano Ronaldo, who almost single-handedly took Portugal to Brazil.

This year, Cristiano Ronaldo achieved one of his most significant results. No, not just in helping Real Madrid win the Champions League for the first time in 12 years and a record-extending 10th European triumph overall, but in dethroning Lionel Messi as the world’s No 1 footballer, which brought immense personal satisfaction to the Portugal captain.

Winning the FIFA Ballon d’Or obviously lifted a huge weight off Ronaldo’s shoulders, as reclaiming the accolade he first won in 2008 had became almost an obsession, with his great rival Messi pipping him to it for the past four years.

What effect that will have on Ronaldo at the World Cup remains to be seen, but he is certainly someone who can handle the immense pressure and expectation of going into the World Cup as the planet’s best footballer.

That comes in handy with Portugal sharing Group G with three-time winners Germany, Ghana and the United States.

Ronaldo, by a clear mile, is Portugal’s main threat. The 29-year-old’s performances in 2013, most notably four goals against Sweden in the playoffs, almost single-handedly secured the Iberians their ticket to Brazil.

But all that raises the question: Are Portugal relying too heavily on Ronaldo to deliver the goods in Brazil?

As central as Ronaldo is to the way the team are built and play, Portugal head coach Paulo Bento needs to assemble an able supporting cast who can keep up with him, something that has been lacking in previous teams.

The 4-2 aggregate victory over Sweden in the playoffs in November was an excellent illustration of just how important Ronaldo is to his country’s chances in Brazil.

Then again, as Portugal’s biggest dangerman, he could not be a clearer and bigger target for rivals who want to snuff out the Portuguese.

While Portugal boast an array of defensive options, including defenders Pepe and Bruno Alves, and holding midfielders Veloso and Raul Meireles, they lack enough match-winners.

That has been made more urgent, with Ronaldo battling tendinosis on his left knee and an injury to his right thigh, although he did train with his compatriots for the first time last Saturday since joining the World Cup squad more than 10 days ago.

Ronaldo, who could feature in Portugal’s friendly on Tuesday (tomorrow morning, Singapore time) against Ireland after sitting out warm-ups against Greece and Mexico, did not to seem to show any signs of the injury limiting his movements during the first 15 minutes of the session, which was open to the media.

While Bento has to grapple with the danger of Portugal becoming a one-man show, it also presents an opportunity for the others in the squad to step up, as that is where they could add a critical dimension to their game.

But as with how then-Argentina coach Carlos Bilardo built his otherwise decent but average 1986 World Cup-winning side around Diego Maradona, one suspects that is how Bento will approach Brazil 2014.

Fortunately for Bento, Ronaldo, like Maradona, revels in the alpha male role, something Messi is only starting to embrace in his role as Argentina’s reluctant leading man. With both being different characters, the comparison could be unfair.

Always immaculately dressed, towing a top Russian model girlfriend in Irina Shayk and a super-agent in Jorge Mendes, Ronaldo looks the part.

As of last month, he had about 82 million Facebook likes and 26 million followers on Twitter, and a big reason for this is due to his commercial power.

Sports research company Repucom recently revealed that Ronaldo was the world’s most marketable footballer, with a global awareness rate of 83.87 per cent.

The Portugal captain was also ranked the 31st richest athlete in the world by Forbes, with earnings estimated at US$44 million (S$55 million) as of June last year, with nearly half his income coming from endorsement deals with leading brands such as Coca-Cola, Castrol, Fly Emirates and Nike, and has graced the covers of Sports Illustrated and Vogue.

Yet, as if their fates were inexplicably intertwined, Ronaldo, like Messi, also needs a World Cup winner’s medal to end the debate on whether he should be considered among the sport’s pantheon of all-time greats such as Pele, Diego Maradona and Franz Beckenabuer.

Pele, the only person to win the World Cup three times, believes Ronaldo still has some way to go.

“To me, the last true great was (France playmaker Zinedine) Zidane. He stayed at the same very high level for at least 10 years,” said the Brazilian.

“Today Messi and Ronaldo are above the rest. Ronaldo reminds me a bit of (the late) Eusebio. He is well bred. He has the elegance and the creativity of the great players.”

CRISTIANO RONALDO FACT FILE:

Full name: Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro

Birth: Feb 5, 1985 in Funchal, Madeira

Height: 1.85m

Position: Forward

Teams: Sporting Lisbon (2002-2003), Manchester United (2003-2009), Real Madrid (2009-present), Portugal (2003-present).

Honours (selected): English Premier League champion (2007, 2008, 2009), Champions League (2008, 2014), Spanish Primera Division (2012), 2004 European Championships runner-up, FIFA World Player of the Year (2008), FIFA Ballon d’Or (2013).