It is the usual suspects again except this time, there is a lone new comer. Magical Argentine and FC Barcelona forward Lionel Messi, Real Madrid’d Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar of Brazil and Barcelona are the three finalists for the 2015 Ballon d’Or, FIFA announced Monday afternoon. It is a contest in which Messi and Neymar hold the ace with Messi having a slight edge to win.
It has been the duo of Messi and Ronaldo over the years. The only difference this year is the presence of Neymar who took the place of Bayern Munich’s Manuel Neuer, one of the finalists along with Messi and Cristiano last year.
Messi and Cristiano have contested the crown in successive years since 2011, while the Argentinean has not missed a single gala since 2007.
The other candidates who have been left of the list of three finalists include: Sergio Agüero, Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema, Kevin De Bruyne, Eden Hazard, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Andrés Iniesta, Toni Kroos, Robert Lewandowski, Javier Mascherano, Thomas Müller, Manuel Neuer, Paul Pogba, Ivan Rakitic, Arjen Robben, James Rodríguez, Alexis Sánchez, Luis Suárez, Yaya Touré and Arturo Vidal.
This year, the favourite to scoop the award is Messi, who has the chance to collect what would be his fifth Ballon d’Or. Messi’s exploits in the last soccer season were exceptional. The FIFA gala will held in Zurich on 11 January 2016.
