Following the Fifa Ballon D’Or shortlist’s presentation last week, who will emerge victor: Manuel Neuer, Leo Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo? Here, we consider the profiles of the three contenders, indicating why they should win the ultimate award and why they shouldn’t.
Cristiano Ronaldo
In Favour — Internationally, he may possibly be the best player at the moment, considering his remarkable statistics. He never disappoints: Ronaldo has already scored 20 La Liga goals this season and just this week, he netted his 56th goal in 57 games for Real Madrid in the Champions League. During the previous season, he scored a total of 17 goals in the Champions League campaign, which saw Real Madrid winning the "Decima’. Moreover, the Real Madrid marketing machine works in his favour as well.
Against — The World Cupalways influences the final decision in some way or another. Just take Fabio Cannavaro, back in 2006, as an example. He only netted one goal in the World Cup and Portugal failed to qualify to the last 16. One should remember, however, that he was not in the finest physical conditions to play.
Lionel Messi
In Favour — Messi won the Golden Ball during the World Cup, despite not being decisive considering that he used to play with Barcelona. Last season, Messi achieved no titles with Barcelona, however, his goals were unceasing and he is the leading goal-scorer of all time, both in La Liga and the Champions League.
Against — In reality, Messi’s drawback is that being the leading goal scorer in both La Liga and the Champions League will not benefit him this year since the voting for this Ballon D’Or had already been closed, therefore it may seem a bit improbable to see Messi winning a fifth one, without having won any trophy this year and especially after failing to win the World Cup.
Manuel Neuer
In Favour — He is a World Cup winner and that effects the final decision significantly. More than having won the World Cup, he also had an impressive season following his performances with Bayern Munich. He swaps the goalkeeper role with that of a sweeper in every match, showing how drastically important it is for goalkeepers to use their legs so they can safeguard and endure the squad’s possession without reducing the tempo.
Against — The fact that he is a goalkeeper. This is not a judgement on his position, but simply a historical fact. The latest goalkeeper to have made it to the final shortlist was Gianluigi Buffon, back in 2006, while the only goalkeeper to have won the award was Lev Yashin, way back in 1963. Nowadays, football values goals more than clean sheets.