Cristiano Ronaldo came in first in the fifth annual vote, but his triumph tells only part of the story behind the full list of 50 modern superstars

Cristiano Ronaldo came in first in the fifth annual vote, but his triumph tells only part of the story behind the full list of 50 modern superstars

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ANALYSIS
By Kris Voakes

Cristiano Ronaldo has been announced as the winner of the Goal.com 50 for 2011-12, topping off a wonderful past 12 months for the Portuguese. Three years on from his record-breaking transfer from Manchester United, he was finally a winner with Real Madrid, and has now added a huge personal accolade to boot.

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Goal.com's global team of editors picked their best 50 footballers from around the world using a points-based voting system, and it was Ronaldo who came out on top to claim the crown for a second time, following on from his 2008 success. A Liga winner with his club for the first time, his 60 goals in Madrid's march to a title which ended Barcelona's run of domination were always going to put him in the running for the Goal.com crown. He was also joined by a number of fellow Blancos as their triumph in Spain saw them dominate the rankings.

But dig deeper and the Goal.com 50 revealed a great deal more about the types of player who excelled in 2011-12 - here, we pick through the fascinating trends.

THE AGE OLD QUESTION

Once more the peak age in the Goal.com 50 is around the central category, with 40 per cent accounted for in the 24-27 age group. Included in that collection is winner Cristiano Ronaldo, and there are another 15 additions from the 28-31 group. While there were three entries from the 16-19 category in 2011, Neymar is this year's youngest entrant at 20 years of age. The oldest member of our 50 is Gianluigi Buffon, who is Didier Drogba's senior by 43 days. At 34, he comes in more than three years younger than Ryan Giggs' high mark in 2011.

SOMETHING'S AFOOT

Having seen exactly half of the Goal.com 50 come from its clientele last year, Nike again supplies footwear to 25 members of our esteemed list. Germany's Adidas again accounts for 32 per cent. The difference this term comes in the remaining nine, with only Puma and Umbro making up a small band of companies being able to claim representation in this year's chart.

A REAL SHIFT IN POWER

The biggest notable swing in this year's Goal.com 50 is in the latest chapter of the battle of El Clasico, with Real Madrid bossing the field thanks to their nine entrants. Barcelona sit in joint second place, with the new English superpower of Manchester City also contributing six players. A total of 23 different clubs figure in the full list, with Borussia Dortmund, European champions Chelsea and Juventus each contributing four players.