Ronaldo, Messi, Neymar In Final Ballon d’Or List

The three players are Spanish league players and they as follow: Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal/Real Madrid), Lionel Messi (Argentina/FC Barcelona) and Neymar (Brazil/FC Barcelona).

Neymar’s award was another surprising selection, particularly after it was announced that Luis Suarez and Rodriguez finished as joint runner-up, while Argentine Messi was not mentioned. While he’s also scored 48 goals so far in 2015, his team has not been as successful – a point that the 30-year-old player himself concedes might be enough to disqualify him from winning his fourth Ballon d’Or in a row.

The victor is announced at a Federation Internationale de Football Association gala in Zurich on January 11 when a series of other awards are handed out.

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Neymar scored his second goal in the second half and to complete the dominant performance for Barca, club star Lionel Messi also added a goal in injury time to seal the win.

The trio leads Europe’s top five leagues in goals this year, with Ronaldo scoring 45, Messi 44 and Neymar 41. Plus, he is simply the best player on the best team in the world.

While Messi is likely to walk away with the prize, Ronaldo’s place in the final three is more on reputation that anything he’s achieved, and he may even lose out to Neymar in the final vote.

Barca won the competition, which features the six continental champions, under former coach Pep Guardiola in 2009 and 2011 having lost out to Brazilian side Internacional in 2006 in their first appearance.

The Bianconeri won the Scudetto and the Coppa Italia last season, as well as reaching the Champions League final.

The prizes include Women’s World Player of the Year, World Coach of the Year and the Puskas Award for the best goal of the year.

The women’s Ballon d’Or will go to the Japan’s Aya Miyama, Celia Sasic of Germany, or Carli Lloyd, whose six goals powered the U.S. to World Cup victory over the summer.