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Cristiano Ronaldo is not even the 'MVP' at his own club, according to a football think tank

Cristiano Ronaldo is not Juventus' "Most Valuable Player," according to sports data specialists Opta.

Ronaldo/Pjanic
  • Instead, the title belongs to midfielder Miralem Pjanic, whom is the club's best ball distributor and has the top ball recovery statistics.
  • Ronaldo has endured his worst start to a season in a decade, scoring just 11 times in all competitions.
  • MVPs from Europe's other big clubs include Lionel Messi at Barcelona, Toni Kroos at Real Madrid, and Virgil van Djik at Liverpool.
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Instead, the title belongs to midfielder Miralem Pjanic.

According to the CIES Football Observatory, a team's MVP is the player "whose performance [has] had the biggest influence in their teams' results."

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The algorithm used to calculate the winner assesses players' performances in the areas of "shooting, chance creation, distribution, rigor, recovery, and take on," and weighs them up against the position in which they play. For example, a striker would earn more credit for his shooting statistics than a defender.

Of those six categories, Ronaldo comes out on top in only one, shooting.

Pjanic, however, is adjudged to be the Italian club's top distributor and the player with the top ball recovery statistics, in turn making him the team's MVP.

The Bosnian midfielder, who joined Juve in 2016 from AS Roma, has three goals and two assists in 13 Serie A games this term, and also boasts a pass accuracy of 89.5% the highest of any regular starter for Maurizio Sarri's side.

Ronaldo however has endured his worst start to a season in a decade, scoring just 11 times in all competitions.

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MVPs from Europe's other big clubs include Lionel Messi at Barcelona, Toni Kroos at Real Madrid, Kevin de Bruyne at Manchester City, and Virgil van Djik at Liverpool.

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