Neymar backs Lionel Messi for the 2016 Ballon d'Or

Neymar backs Lionel Messi for the 2016 Ballon d'Or

no photo

|

© Getty Images

Brazilian captain Neymar has backed Argentine captain Lionel Messi to win the Ballon d'Or title for the sixth time in his career this year. Neymar said that although Portuguese captain Cristiano Ronaldo is a great player, he still believes that it is the Argentine who wins the award.

Ronaldo is considered to be the clear favorite for the award that would see him get to within a single Ballon d’Or title of the Barcelona forward. Ronaldo has had a stellar year, winning his third UEFA Champions League, his second with Real Madrid in the last three years, and then guiding an unfancied Portugese team to European glory at the 2016 Euros scoring 51 goals in the season along the way.

Messi, on the other hand, won the La Liga with his club side Barcelona but failed to win the Copa America, losing to Chile in the final. He does, however, have 56 goals to his name. 

"I don't know who will win, for me there is only one who's the best that's Messi," Neymar said in an interview with GOL.

"Ronaldo is a great player, he's world class and has been for many years and I respect him. But Messi is the one who deserves it for me."

Even though, Ronaldo has been well short of his usual best for Los Blancos, when asked if he was confident about winning the award for the fourth time, he had claimed that he was "rather confident and relaxed" about the award ceremony.

Get updates! Follow us on

Open all