FIFA Ballon d'Or 2015 Shortlist: Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar, Lionel Messi Named
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo head up the 23-man shortlist for the 2015 Ballon d’Or award, which was announced on FIFA’s official website on Tuesday.
Messi, a four-time winner of the award, and Ronaldo, the previous winner, are both included in a star-studded list of players who will be hoping to be named as the world’s finest footballer over the course of the calendar year.
Messi is joined on the list by Barcelona team-mates Neymar, Luis Suarez, Ivan Rakitic, Andres Iniesta and Javier Mascherano. There are four Real Madrid players in the running aside from Ronaldo: Gareth Bale, James Rodriguez, Karim Benzema and Toni Kroos.
Here’s a look at the nominations in full, the names in the hunt for the coach of the year and the bookmakers' three favourites to win this year's award, per Odds Checker.
| Sergio Aguero | Manchester City | Argentina |
| Gareth Bale | Real Madrid | Wales |
| Karim Benzema | Real Madrid | France |
| Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid | Portugal |
| Kevin De Bruyne | Wolfsburg, Manchester City | Belgium |
| Eden Hazard | Chelsea | Belgium |
| Zlatan Ibrahimovic | Paris Saint-Germain | Sweden |
| Andres Iniesta | Barcelona | Spain |
| Toni Kroos | Real Madrid | Germany |
| Robert Lewandowski | Bayern Munich | Poland |
| Javier Mascherano | Barcelona | Argentina |
| Lionel Messi | Barcelona | Argentina |
| Thomas Muller | Bayern Munich | Germany |
| Manuel Neuer | Bayern Munich | Germany |
| Neymar | Barcelona | Brazil |
| Paul Pogba | Juventus | France |
| Ivan Rakitic | Barcelona | Croatia |
| Arjen Robben | Bayern Munich | Netherlands |
| James Rodriguez | Real Madrid | Colombia |
| Alexis Sanchez | Arsenal | Chile |
| Luis Suarez | Barcelona | Uruguay |
| Yaya Toure | Manchester City | Ivory Coast |
| Arturo Vidal | Juventus, Bayern Munich | Chile |
| Massimiliano Allegri | Italy | Juventus |
| Carlo Ancelotti | Italy | Real Madrid |
| Laurent Blanc | France | Paris Saint-Germain |
| Unai Emery | Spain | Sevilla |
| Pep Guardiola | Spain | Bayern Munich |
| Luis Enrique | Spain | Barcelona |
| Jose Mourinho | Portugal | Chelsea |
| Jorge Sampaoli | Argentina | Chile |
| Diego Simeone | Argentina | Atletico Madrid |
| Arsene Wenger | France | Arsenal |
Top Three Contenders
Robert Lewandowski, Bayern Munich
While a league-title triumph in the Bundesliga meant the 2014-15 term was a glorious one for Robert Lewandowski, it’s his form in the current campaign that has thrust him into the running for this award ahead of some of the aforementioned names.
Indeed, the Polish centre-forward has been in extraordinary goalscoring form as of late, which is a run that began with a substitute appearance in a game against Wolfsburg earlier in the season; Lewandowski rose from the bench to notch five goals in a meagre nine minutes in that particular match.
As noted by BBC’s John Bennett recently, his form has been remarkable as of late, striking fear into the hearts of Bundesliga goalkeepers:
The goalscoring levels Lewandowski has shown so far this season are only usually matched by the likes of Messi and Ronaldo. It makes the Polish international’s prolific feats all the more impressive, but you sense he’s timed his burst of goals a little too late to have a realistic chance of winning the Ballon d’Or.
Cristiano Ronaldo, Real Madrid
The goals have continued to flow for Ronaldo ever since he picked up the 2014 edition of this award. Indeed, he finished the 2014-15 La Liga term with a staggering 48 goals from 35 appearances and recently became Real Madrid’s all-time top goalscorer, bagging his 324th goal in the iconic Los Blancos jersey.
He made his way to that mark in scintillatingly quick time too, especially when compared to some giants in Real’s history, per Sky Sports News HQ:
Sadly for Ronaldo, although he has continued to stick chances away, they haven’t quite been enough to help Real Madrid haul in any silverware this year. Indeed, Los Blancos fell short in La Liga, the Champions League and the Copa del Rey in 2015, costing former manager Carlo Ancelotti his job.
Although Ronaldo has scored a staggering number of goals in the calendar year so far, without having galvanised his team to any honours, it makes him the second favourite for this award. You suspect losing out on it will serve as staunch motivation for the Portuguese to keep levels high and recapture it in 2016.
Lionel Messi, Barcelona
Barring a drastic change in fortunes, Messi is the man who will win the 2015 Ballon d’Or after returning to his very best form this calendar year.
The diminutive Argentine was at the heart of Barcelona winning three major honours in the 2014-15 season, scoring goals, creating chances and leaving defenders across Europe completely dumbfounded. Messi’s stunning link-up with Suarez and Neymar will live long in the memory for those who followed Barcelona’s progress last season.
Earlier in the year, as Messi turned in a masterclass in a 1-0 win over Manchester City, Spanish football expert Sergi Dominguez summed up his feelings on the Barcelona sensation:
Winning this award for a fifth time would represent a wonderful achievement for the Barcelona No. 10, but it’s not a gong that seems to hold much priority for the Argentina captain. Indeed, Messi clearly relishes being central to the team’s success and enjoyed sharing the goals around with his forward partners as the Blaugrana swept all before them last term.
Still, there’s no denying Messi is critical to the Barcelona cause and will continue to be so for a while yet. Winning the Ballon d’Or this year will put him two ahead of Ronaldo, and going off the impeccable performances the Barca talisman turned in last season, there could very well be a few more left for him to win.
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