Christiano Ronaldo has capped off arguably the best 12 months of his career by being announced as the cover athlete for FIFA 18.

Ronaldo, 32, is fresh off scoring a double in UEFA Champions League final as Real Madrid became the first ever team to win the tournament back-to-back. In between, he was victorious with Portgual at EURO 2016, won the Ballor D'or award recognising the best player in the world, and the domestic league with Madrid, among a host of other individual honours.

Star man: Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates after scoring in the 2017 UEFA Champions League final. Credit:Getty Images

"It is a real pleasure to be on the cover of FIFA 18," Ronaldo said. "It's a great feeling and I am grateful to have been chosen."

It's the first time Ronaldo has adorned the cover of the popular series (although he was on the cover of Konami's Pro Evolution Soccer on three occasions) - taking over from Germany and Borussia Dortmund Star Marco Reus. In FIFA 16 it was Ronaldo's rival Lionel Messi, who had graced the cover as the for the past four iterations of the game between 2013 and 2016. Previous covers were shared between Wayne Rooney, Ronaldinho and Kaka, among others.