On Monday, Cristiano Ronaldo continued to cement his legacy as one of the best players of all time by winning his third Ballon d'Or and second straight. It was a feat that the superstar celebrated with an emphatic shout during his acceptance speech, drawing ire, joy and confusion from fans the world over.

The shout made it seem as if Ronaldo had never achieved the feat, but in some ways, this might be his most impressive victory thus far. How does it compare with his other two?

For starters, winning his third Ballon d'Or puts Ronaldo in an exclusive class with such players as Lionel Messi (who has won four), Johann Cruyff, Michel Platini and Marco van Basten.

But what makes this victory so special? For starters, it is superior to his win in 2013 when there was no denying his skill as individual. Ronaldo put up 69 goals in a single year, one of the best such tallies in the entire history of world soccer and his personal best record. But that win was clouded by controversy. Ronaldo did not win a single trophy (unlike his two immediate rivals) and the voting deadline was extended as he put his heroics in the World Cup playoffs. It was an unprecedented move and one that most people derided. It was easy to shrug off Ronaldo's win as being founded on luck.

So what does Ronaldo do? He turns 2014 in a tremendous year. He scores 61 goals, which is eighth-best goal total in a year, breaks the Champions League record for most goals in a tournament, wins La Decima, wins the Copa del Rey, wins Europe's Golden Boot, becomes the fastest player to score 200 goals in Spain, breaks the record for most hat tricks in Spanish League history, becomes the second greatest goal scorer in Champions League history and then kicks off the 2014-15 season with a tremendous 32 goals over four months while winning two more trophies with Real Madrid and positioning the team for a deep run in 2015.

Meanwhile, his biggest rival, Messi, fails to win a single trophy and earns less goals and assist totals for the entire year. His other competitor is an elite goalie (maybe the best of all time), who for all his efforts still plays behind two of the best defensive sides in the world.

So there can be no doubt about this Ballon d'Or being far superior to Ronaldo's previous one. But is it better than his first one? From a goal-scoring perspective, there is no doubt. Ronaldo is miles better in 2014 as a scorer than he was during his 2008 victory. But back then there was probably no question about his being the best in the world. At that point in time, Messi was still a rising star but had yet to cement the brand name of today. Ronaldo was a far superior scorer and he won everything with Manchester United that year. He won the Premier League, the Champions League and the FIFA Club World Cup.

So which trophy is the superior one? Winning the first Ballon d'Or was a huge feat for Ronaldo but the fact that he has added a third one to his collection after putting a historic season that saw him reach new goal-scoring and assisting heights marks this as his finest win to date. Messi might be close right now, but Ronaldo being superior to Messi in the Argentine's current form just emphasizes how good Ronaldo has been and how huge this 2014 Ballon d'Or is for him.