Xavi Doesn't Believe Cristiano Ronaldo Is a Top-3 Candidate for Ballon d'Or

Barcelona star Xavi took a not-so-subtle shot at Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo in a recent interview, saying the Portugal international wouldn't even make his top three of Ballon d'Or contenders.    

Speaking to Catalan-based newspaper Sport (h/t the Daily Mail's Jack Briden), the veteran midfielder said he would instead nominate team-mates Lionel Messi and Javier Mascherano, as well as Bayern Munich's Philipp Lahm, based on their strong performances at the 2014 World Cup:

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The 34-year-old was posed the question: 'If you had been Spain captain who would you have voted for the Ballon d’Or?'

'First Leo (Lionel Messi). Second (Philipp) Lahm and third (Javier) Mascherano,' Xavi asserted.

'The thing is, Cristiano didn’t do much in the World Cup and I think that in the year of the World Cup that defines much of the season.' 

[...] 'I see a happy Messi,' Xavi commented. 

'Look, he is the best player in the world and we have to live with these responses. But I see him happy and content. 

'Very different to last year when he suffered that beastly injury that kept him off the field of play for two months, also with the World Cup on the horizon, it wasn’t an easy year for anybody. 

'But this year he’s at the top, we are really enjoying it with him on the pitch. He’s performing like the best Messi.'

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Ronaldo is widely regarded as the favourite for this year's Ballon d'Or award, with former greats like Peter Schmeichel (h/t Super Sport) and Roberto Carlos (h/t beIN Sports) backing the Real Madrid star to win the award for the second consecutive year:

The 29-year-old led Real Madrid to the Champions League title and the Club World Cup but came up short at the 2014 World Cup, where he suffered an embarrassing first-round exit with Portugal.

Messi and Manuel Neuer are the other nominees for this year's award, and like Mascherano and Lahm, they both played in the World Cup final, which saw Germany beat Argentina after extra time.

Steve Bardens/Getty Images

Lahm and Neuer also won the Bundesliga title and the German cup with Bayern Munich, but were thrashed by Real Madrid in the Champions League semi-finals.

Messi and Mascherano came just short in the World Cup final with Argentina, a microcosm for the 2014 campaign that ultimately saw the duo lose out on any silverware.

Ronaldo's biggest calling card apart from the Champions League win is his incredible scoring in 2014, and particularly in the new La Liga campaign. As shared by OptaJose, he's been involved in 60 percent of Los Blancos' goals this season:

He currently leads La Liga with 25 goals in 14 matches, per WhoScored.com, out-scoring all but six of the teams in the Spanish top division on his own.

The Ballon d'Or is a difficult award to gauge, with certain voters putting more credence in individual performances than others. Some will argue the World Cup is a team achievement, absolving Ronaldo of all blame, but others will point to the fact he only made minor contributions in the Champions League and Club World Cup finals.   

The Barcelona star clearly values the performances at the 2014 World Cup above everything else, and his comments will no doubt add some spice to the next Clasico, with the two teams meeting at the Camp Nou in March.

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