It’s the usual suspects again

London, November 30

Cristiano Ronaldo will have a chance to win a third straight Ballon d'Or award in January after being named on the final three-man shortlist, by FIFA, alongside Barcelona pair Lionel Messi and Neymar. Real Madrid forward Ronaldo has won the award for the past two years following Messi's four-in-a-row, while Neymar is yet to win it.

Thirty-year-old Ronaldo also won the award for his performances in 2008 during his spell with Manchester United, but a move to Real in 2009 failed to produce immediate results as Messi and Barcelona dominated European football.

However, that all changed in 2013, as Ronaldo's incredible goal-scoring record for Real led to him taking the award for the first time in five years, with the 2013 Champions League victory helping Ronaldo to retain the crown in January this year.

Messi meanwhile is the bookmakers' favourite to win the award after leading the Catalan side to a brilliant treble last season, with Luis Enrique's side winning La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the Champions League.

However, in Messi's absence this season, Neymar has taken centrestage, and the Brazil international has been included in the three-man shortlist for the very first time having taken the place ahead of Bayern Munich and Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.

As has been the case over the past two years, Ronaldo has again scored the most goals in Europe having netted 48 times in 51 matches for club and country, although the Catalan pair are not far behind.

Messi has scored 44 goals in 54 matches, while Neymar has found the net 42 times in the same number of matches, and in total Ronaldo has the best games-per-goal ratio with his 1.06 just beating Messi's 1.22 and Neymar's 1.28. — The Independent