Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo has been shortlisted for the Ballon d’Or award along with Barcelona pair Neymar and Leo Messi.
The 30-year-old Los Blancos frontman is the holder of the trophy and has won it three times in his career overall with Messi having won it four times. Neymar makes the three-man list for the first time in his career.
Although Los Blancos missed out on the major prizes last season, Ronaldo had a superb campaign on a personal level as he netted 61 times for his club – his best figures to date. This year, the Portugual captain has scored 14 times and in October he became Real’s all-time leading scorer, overtaking Raul’s haul of 324 goals for the club.
Ronaldo, whose future has been subject of plenty of speculation, faces a tall order though when the winner is announced at an awards ceremony at FIFA headquarters on January 11. Argentinean striker Messi played a pivotal role as Los Cules won the treble last season and is likely to be favourite to win the award for a fifth time.
Neymar’s influence on the Barca team has grown over the past few months and along with Luis Suarez he has scored the goals to cover for Messi’s absence through injury earlier this season.
