Lionel Messi, Neymar, Luis Suarez Deserve Ballon d'Or Spot, Says Josep Bartomeu
After they fired Barcelona to a stunning treble of trophies earlier this year, Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez should be the three main contenders for the 2015 Ballon d'Or, according to Blaugrana president Josep Maria Bartomeu.
When quizzed about the club’s sensational attacking trio, Bartomeu was naturally effusive in his praise. “Messi, Neymar Jr. and Suarez deserve to be the three FIFA Ballon d'Or finalists,” he said, per Marca.
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Despite the president’s obvious bias, there’s no denying Bartomeu has a case. After all, as we can see here, courtesy of Squawka, the goalscoring exploits of these players reached a ridiculous standard:
But there’s more to this trio than the goals they scored; they make key impacts at vital times. In the Champions League, Neymar scored goals in both legs of Barcelona’s quarter-final, both legs of the semi-final and in the final too. Suarez netted the decisive goal on that famous night in Berlin at a period in the game when Juventus were getting on top.
Neymar has previously admitted that while he doesn't expect to win the award, he'd be delighted to make the final cut. "Just being one of the three finalists would be a great achievement for me," he told TV Globo (h/t Mark Doyle of Goal). "It would be a dream to find myself up there next to Messi and Cristiano. It would be a great honour."
As for Messi? He has been magisterial throughout 2015. Arguably his finest moment came in the final of the Copa del Rey, when he scored a stunning goal against Athletic Bilbao:
Cristiano Ronaldo will certainly have something to say about the three shortlisted players all playing in Catalonia, though. After all, the Ballon d’Or is an individual award, and although Real Madrid didn’t finish the season with trophy success, Ronaldo was sensational for Los Blancos.
His goalscoring record in 2014/15 was also tremendous, as WhoScored.com illustrates here:
It wouldn’t be unprecedented for three players from the same team to be in the eventual running for this illustrious award. In 2010, Messi’s Barcelona team-mates Xavi and Andres Iniesta, on the back of Spain's World Cup win, were nominated for the award alongside the genial Argentina star.
Messi will be in the running, of that there is no doubt. Ronaldo, despite what was a relatively disappointing campaign with the capital club, simply cannot be left out of the running when looking at his goalscoring record.
But at this juncture, the other spot is definitely up for grabs. While winning the individual gong won’t be the main source of motivation for these players on the cusp of a new season, tracking who will be alongside Messi and Ronaldo on the stage will certainly be an intriguing subplot for supporters to savour.
