Speaking at the La Liga awards, Messi said: “I’d have liked to be on the Ballon d’Or podium with Neymar and Luis”.
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Neymar is expected by various people to be one of the successors to win this award once Messi and Ronaldo are out of consideration.
Third on the list is the always outstanding player of Real Madrid, Cristiano Ronaldo, even though last season wasn’t what he expected since his team didn’t win any important trophy.
The 2015 finalists for the FIFA Ballon d’Or were announced on Monday morning and the three players who will head to Switzerland for soccer’s biggest prize all hail from Spanish clubs as La Liga once again dominated the awards.
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Based on his individual performance last season, the 30-year-old forward presents a good case for himself and he would be looking forward to winning his fourth Ballon d’Or.
Though Real Madrid didn’t win any silverware last season, Ronaldo scored an incredible 48 goals in 35 league matches and 60 in all competitions. He is part of a formidable front line that also includes Messi and Uruguayan Luis Suarez. England’s coach Mark Sampson and Norio Sasaki, Japan coach, are also shortlisted.
The other award categories are women’s world player of the year and men’s football world coach of the year.
Neymar, 23, is the top scorer in La Liga this term with 12 goals in 11 appearances, with two more in five Champions League outings, and was particularly impressive during Messi’s recent two-month absence with a knee injury.
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Messi’s strike is up against Alessandro Florenzi’s incredible long-range effort against Barcelona for Roma back in September and Brazilian Wendell Lira, but Enrique believes the setting of Messi’s goal in a Cup final gives it added value.
