We’re coming to that stage of the football year where everyone starts to talk about who they think will win the FIFA Ballon d’Or award in January.

After a fantastic end to the 2013/14 football season and a brilliant World Cup, the likes of Germany and Bayern Munich’s Thomas Muller will be included in the contenders list. Obviously players like Portugal and Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo and Argentina and Barcelona’s Lionel Messi will be included on the shortlist when it is announced in December, but one player that deserves to be considered is Diego Costa.

Last season, whilst he was as Atletico Madrid, the Spaniard was a key part behind their success. Costa helped his club win the La Liga title for the first time since the 1995-96 season and also reach the final of the UEFA Champions League. The 26-year-old scored 27 goals in 35 league games and 36 goals in 52 appearances in all competitions. This is truly a momentous achievement considering the season before last, when he only managed to score 10 goals from 31 league games and Atletico Madrid finished 3^rd, 24 points off the top of the table.

When compared to Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo, Costa only slightly underperformed. The 29-year-old helped his club side finish 3^rd in La Liga, just behind Barcelona on goal difference, and helped his side win the UEFA Champions League and the Copa del Rey. Ronaldo scored 31 goals from 30 league games and 51 goals from 47 appearances in all competitions, averaging over a goal per game. He was the Champions League top goal scorer for a second consecutive season with 17 goals. Ronaldo clearly had a better season as he helped his side win more trophies and scored more goals. However, considering how far Costa has come compared to last season, he should still be a serious contender alongside Ronaldo.

Sadly, Costa failed to transition his performances for his club to his country during the World Cup in Brazil. Spain were eliminated in the group stages and played horrendously. The defending World Champions only managed to win one game and lost the other two, scoring only four goals and conceding seven. Costa also failed to find the back of the net throughout the entire tournament.

Ronaldo's Portugal also failed to make it out of their respective group at the World Cup. They were eliminated when they finished 3^rd after the USA beat them to 2^nd on goal difference. Ronaldo only scored one goal and got one assist during his time in Brazil, but he did record an average of 7.3 shots per game. Costa, on the other hand, only had on average 2.5 shots per game. Ronaldo is still only slightly ahead.

Finally, we come to how well each player has performed so far this season. Over the summer, Costa made a £32m move to Chelsea. Since the move, he has scored nine goals from seven Premier Leagues appearances, making a huge impact at the club and quickly becoming a favourite amongst fans. This has also helped The Pensioners remain undefeated so far this season, putting them at the top of the Premier League.

For Madrid so far this season, Ronaldo has scored 13 goals from six league appearances. With three hat tricks in his last four games, the Portuguese is now among the top 10 La Liga goal scorers of all time, with 186 goals in 169 La Liga appearances.

You simply cannot fight the ability which Ronaldo brings to every game domestically. The only place he is lacking is on the international front but that can be quite difficult when you are a centre piece wizard for a mediocre team. Costa isn’t any competition when it comes to the eventual winner of the FIFA Ballon d’Or, but he should be contention and receive recognition for what he has done and how far he has come in the past year.

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