Cristiano Ronaldo Golden Boot betting

Cristiano Ronaldo odds for 2010 World Cup

Being perhaps the best-known player in the world right now, the spotlight is most certainly going to be placed on Cristiano Ronaldo this summer. The Real Madrid and Portuguese star has been recognised as one of the best players in the world in recent years. His Fifa World Player of the Year (2008) and astonishing £80 million transfer from Manchester Utd to Real Madrid certainly reflect that. Odds of 20/1 (bwin.com) are available on him winning the golden boot award.

It has been fairly underwhelming first season in Madrid for Ronaldo, he has struggled with injuries and seen his side knocked out of the Champions League unexpectedly at the hands of Lyon in the second round. However, despite his team’s poor performance, Ronaldo has still managed to score 25 goals in 31 appearances which shows he hasn’t lost any of the ability he showed in a Manchester Utd shirt.

Although his club form has remained impressive, his form for Portugal hasn’t matched it, and he failed to score in their World Cup qualifying campaign despite making 7 starts. Scoring has been a major problem for Portugal throughout the qualifiers, and without Ronaldo on top form they struggled. They did eventually scrape through to the finals after a play-off win against Bosnia Herzegovina. However, this shows that the current Portugal side is not as good as in previous years and they may struggle in South Africa. Being drawn in the ‘group of death’ alongside Ivory Coast and Brazil may mean they will leave the competition at the group stages. Should this be the case, it will be nearly impossible for the flamboyant winger to win the golden boot.

Although seeming generous to many, the odds of 20/1 in my eyes do not reflect much value given the chances of Portugal falling at the group stages. And despite the obvious talent of Ronaldo, I see him having little chance of finishing the competition as leading goal scorer.

Cristiano Ronaldo Golden Boot betting odds

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