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. 

"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. 

The series began back in 1993 as FIFA International Soccer, and featured England's David Platt and Poland's Piotr Świerczewski on the front. 

The game will offer a special 'Ronaldo Edition' for players to purchase - allowing them to start playing the game three days before it's released to the general public, as well as other bonuses for the franchise's popular 'Ultimate Team' game mode. 
 
"The world's best player has helped fuel the biggest leap forward on the pitch that we've ever delivered," said Aaron McHardy, Senior Producer for the FIFA series. 

"We are extremely excited to partner with Cristiano - working with him we learned a lot about his unique play style and what makes him so special. His passion, energy and global fanbase make him the perfect ambassador for FIFA 18."

FIFA 18 will be released globally on Friday, September 29th on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, Nintendo Switch and PC.