Barcelona duo Lionel Messi and Neymar will compete with current holder Cristiano Ronaldo for this year’s FIFA Ballon d’Or.
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The FIFA Ballon d’Or Gala takes place in Zurich on Jan 11, 2016.
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The award has been dominated by Ronaldo and Messi over the past seven years, with the Real Madrid man bagging the trophy three times and the Argentine taking the honour home on four occasions.
He played a crucial role in Barcelona’s 2014-15 Champions League triumph, netting 10 goals to be the competition’s equal top scorer alongside Ronaldo and Messi. None apart from Messi and Ronaldo has won the award since 2007. While appearing on iTV’s The Jonathan Ross Show earlier this month, he explained his reasoning quite bluntly.
He was instrumental in helping Barca win a stunning treble last season, including the Champions League, after starring alongside team-mates Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez. Either way, fill out our poll below to voice your opinions!
After winning his third Ballon d’Or, Ronaldo continued his incredible form to end the La Liga season with 48 goals.
Neymar, who is the first Brazilian to be named in the final three since Kaka won the award all the way back in 2007, has been recognised for his contribution at club level in 2015.
Luis Enrique (Barcelona), Josep Guardiola (Bayern Munich) and Jorge Sampaoli (Chile Coach) were also announced as the three coaches who expect to receive the award for “FIFA World Coach”.
Valencia’s Algerian midfielder Sofiane Feghouli was voted the top African player and Barcelona’s Brazilian striker Neymar, the best player from the American continent.
Overall, Messi (44), Neymar (41) and Suarez (40) have scored 78% of Barcelona’s goals in 2015 and 30 of the club’s 33 goals this season.
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Neymar was named best player from the Americas, and the Brazil star said: “I am really happy to have won the award”. He scored 29 goals in the second half of 2014/15 and became Real Madrid’s all-time record goalscorer in October, but his performances this season have come under scrutiny.
