(Image credit: FIFA)
Since Messi and Ronaldo established their talents in football, no other player has been able to lift the Ballon d’Or. Kaka was the last “ordinary” player to win the golden ball before the onset of the hyperstars, and that was back in 2007 – almost decade ago. And Ballon d’Or 2015 is no different with the Argentine prized to claim his fifth trophy, while Ronaldo is second favorite.
Lionel Messi 1.03 (1/33)
(Image credit: The Guardian)
Messi has so far won a record four golden balls in a row, stretching from 2009 to 2012. Each of the seasons he has won it in were remarkable in both goal numbers and trophies. When he won the Champions League (2009 and 2011) he lifted the Ballon d’Or – a feature that is almost customary for the winner of Europe’s biggest competition. In other seasons he showed tremendous talent on the ball and scored loads of goals, which granted him the support to win it a further two more times (2010 and 2012).
Barcelona were outstanding in 2015, scooping almost everything on offer. They won two of the biggest trophies – the Spanish league and the Champions League – along with three other cups. Messi contributed a whopping 58 goals in all competitions for the Catalans, with 43 of them coming in La Liga and 10 in the Champions League. With all of this in mind, it’s safe to assume Messi will win the Ballon d’Or 2015. Like many online sportsbook, William Hill favors him to clinch his fifth award 1.03 (1/33).
Neymar 11.00 (10/1)
(Image credit: Eurosport)
Many football experts had reservations about Neymar’s transition to European football, and whether he could replicate the success he enjoyed while playing for Santos in Brazil. After a tumultuous first campaign for Barcelona, he proved his critics wrong by becoming an instrument player for his side, finding the back of the net an impressive 39 times across all competitions last season. His records resulted in him lifting the Champions League and La Liga titles, among other trophies in 2015.
While Messi was absent through injury this term, the Brazilian formed a formidable partnership with Luis Suarez, which only added value to his already impressive feats in 2015. Therefore it’s no surprise that he was shortlisted by FIFA for the Ballon d’Or 2015. William Hill gives him second-best odds behind teammate Messi, at 11.00 (10/1). Taking into account that Messi is still the “main man” of the squad, we don’t think it’s likely Neymar will be claiming the Ballon d’Or 2015 for himself. But surely enough, in a few more years we should be seeing him lift it, if he keeps up his impressive performances.
Cristiano Ronaldo 21.00 (20/1)
(Image credit: Mirror)
The only player that can match Messi’s skills and talent is Ronaldo – who has won the prestigious accolade on three occasions (2008, 2013 and 2014). There are many football critics that would say he should be ahead of Messi in the Ballon d’Or charts, especially for 2012 – a season in which Ronaldo scored 60 goals and won La Liga, while Messi’s “only’ achievement that season was notching 73 goals.
For last season (2014-2015), Ronaldo was ahead of the Argentine in the goalscoring department with a total of 61 goals – his best ever season. Messi on the other hand found himself on the scorer’s charts a “mere” 58 times, but then again…he won the five major trophies. Due to this, Ronaldo has almost no chance of collecting his fourth Ballon d’Or, which would essentially put him on par with Messi. His odds for winning are 21.00 (20/1), according to William Hill.
Luis Suarez
(Image credit: The Guardian)
What’s quite surprising is that Luis Suarez wasn’t shortlisted for the Ballon d’Or 2015, since he managed to put his troubles behind him and become once again one of the most revered strikers in Europe. There’s no way of knowing this for sure, but we’re guessing that his biting incident in the 2014 World Cup affected his chances of getting shortlisted for the award. Having Suarez instead of Ronaldo as the top three would see all the Ballon d’Or 2015 nominees come from one club. We saw this previously in 2010, when Messi, Iniesta and Xavi were the main nominees for the accolade. With the way things are going for Barcelona this season, we reckon that actually may very well happen in the years to come.