By RYAN TOLMICH
The calendars may have turned to 2015, but FIFA is set to recognize the prior year’s best player with the awarding of the Ballon d’Or.
Lionel Messi, Manuel Neuer and Cristiano Ronaldo are the candidates for this year’s award, which is to be presented Monday at the Ballon d’Or Gala.
Ronaldo and Messi are the only two players to have won the award in it’s current form, which began when France Football’s Ballon d’Or and the men’s FIFA World Player of the Year were merged in 2010.
To date, Messi has captured a record four titles, while Ronaldo enters having won last year’s award. Manuel Neuer, meanwhile, is the first goalkeeper to be nominated.
Have a look at a breakdown of each players achievements below and vote on who you think should be awarded the 2014 FIFA Ballon d’Or:
LIONEL MESSI
Four-time winner Lionel Messi has managed to put together a strong campaign for his fifth award.
Winner of the World Cup’s Golden Ball, Messi was, as always, a key contributor in Argentina’s advancement to the World Cup final. Messi’s achievements were not limited to the international stage, as the Barcelona forward broke the record for most career goals scored in La Liga and the Champions League.
MANUEL NEUER
The biggest feather in the cap of Manuel Neuer is that that German goalkeeper can be regarded as a World Cup winner.
Neuer’s marauding play in and around the box were a highlight of Germany’s World Cup triumph, for which he was awarded the Golden Glove. Meanwhile, Neuer’s steady hands remained on the club level, were Bayern Munich captured the Bundesliga and DFB Pokal crown.
CRISTIANO RONALDO
Real Madrid finally captured La Decima in 2014, and most of the credit should certainly go to Cristiano Ronaldo.
Scorer of 17 goals in the triumphant UEFA Champions League campaign, Ronaldo led his side to that historic trophy. Ronaldo shined on the club level with 51 goals in the 2013-14 season and 33 so far in the 2014-15 campaign, including a stretch of 15 goals in just seven games.
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Now it’s your turn to vote. Let us know who you think should win the Ballon d’Or:
Who did you vote for? Who do you think should have been on the ballot that wasn’t included?
Share your thoughts below.
Cristiano. Messi had an off year and keepers are not footballers.
you might have an (extremely weak) argument if you had been talking about any other keeper but neuer.
i wouldn’t say he revolutionized the position with his play in the world cup, only because others have tried to play ‘sweeper-keeper’ before–just nowhere near as masterfully as he did.
Exactly why Neuer should win. Other tried to play sweeper-keeper, but Neuer is the only one to show that it’s
viablelethal in today’s game. Thus, I would say that he “revolutionized” the position because now everyone knows what it should look like.CR7 had a great year. Hmm, okay.
Brad Guzman.. I kid but he has been no short of brilliant
would love for neuer to get it; he was flawless this year, and i’ve never seen someone at his level play the sweeper-keeper role with such assurance. but ronaldo had maybe his greatest year ever, and he’s an attacker, so he’ll get it (deservedly).
Neuer had a great WC, but Ronaldo and his buddies put 5 goals past him in the Champions league’s semis.
And Ronaldo scored a meaningless goal in the finals and didnt win his domestic league. I think Ronaldo will win it. He has had a great year but I think Neuer has had almost as good a year.
Does anyone still remember Ronaldo’s WC run?
Injuries made him relatively mundane. I assume sarcasm.
=
I did not intend to blast Neuer, who had an excellent season and deserves to be in the discussion, I just tried to point out that he has not been “flawless” as the original post suggested.
Ah understood. It is indeed very close.
point taken. scratch ‘flawless’, insert ‘spectacular’.
Spectacular works spectacularly. 😉
No brainer. CR7 was the best player in the world last year. Neuer is a tool and Messi just got beat out this year!
You’re not really making any arguments here.
frank, you’re not listening: it’s a ‘no brainer’.
Apparently the P does not stand for persuasive…
If being a tool disqualifies Neuer, how was CR7 even nominated…
Since personality apparently matters, Neuer is less of a tool than the others simply because he has a lower profile.
Ronaldo should win it I guess but Neuer a very very very close second.
Neuer and Messi even played head to head in the biggest game of their lives and Neuer won.