The finalists for the next Ballon d'Or award have been made with Cristiano Ronaldo, débutante finalist Neymar and record breaker Lionel Messi all making the cut.
Many are already predicting Messi to win his fifth award regaining back the trophy from current holder and arch rival Ronaldo, but does he genuinely deserve to?
Over the past couple of seasons Messi has struggled with injuries and while this hasn't hampered his success in the long run, his most recent stint on the sidelines has highlighted something major for Barcelona... They haven't really needed him.
Once Messi was out of action all eyes turned to his attacking partners Suarez and Neymar. Both were still finding their feet after their transfers to the Camp Nou and Suarez had even been labelled as a slight flop due to his lack of goals despite providing a decent amount of assists. Pundits and fans alike were wondering how the two would cope in his absence.
They have since answered their critics in thunderous style and even seemed to flourish as a partnership without Barca's number ten. Achieving an almost identical goals to assists ratio they have blown away every opposition they have faced. In fact Barcelona's attacking trio have scored more goals together in this calendar year than Real Madrid's entire squad put together.
They have already proved they are title winners by clinching the Copa del Rey and Champions League trophies last season. So, having said all that, why is Ronaldo considered as having more of a successful year than Luis Suarez?
Ronaldo hasn't achieved anything truly significant since winning the Ballon d'Or last time around, but Suarez has won silverware, is currently part of the worlds best strike trio and is engraving his name into European history and football folklore.
That's not to say Ronaldo isn't worthy of being ranked among the elite superstars anymore, however given what Suarez has achieved over the year it would be fair to say he deserves his place on the podium more than the Portuguese captain.
Favourite Messi might be counting his lucky stars a bit when you review what he has actually achieved himself. Having not particularly set the world alight like he normally does it might be fair to say someone else should have been looked at to take his spot. In fairness however, he is still the major kink in the Barcelona front three and many may state that making Jérôme Boateng trip over his own feet before chipping arguably the worlds best keeper in Neuer with astonishing ease deserves the award all on its own.
So why isn't Suarez in the final three alongside his compatriots? Above is a very simple argument as to why he should be, maybe it's his behaviour that lets him down...
He is infamously known for his moments of madness in biting opposition players, and is a serial offender for dives that Tom Daley would be proud of.
Perhaps that's the reason, after all Suarez is still seen by many as a role model. It's just hard to see why the high flying "MSN" aren't being considered as football gods just yet, or maybe the powers that be have decided that if the they were given the glorification they deserve, the world would have to bow down at their mercy thus rendering all future club competitions redundant until they retire, or were sold... But who in their right minds would be stupid enough to sanction such a sale!
My prediction:
Winner: Messi
Runner-up: Neymar
Third: Ronaldo
Source: DSG
