The Ballon d’Or award will be announced on Monday and Barcelona star Neymar has backed teammate Lionel Messi to beat Cristiano Ronaldo to the prestigious individual prize.
Ronaldo is the favourite to win the Ballon d’Or award this year after winning the Champions League, Euro and scoring an incredible 51 goals this year. However, Neymar backed the Argentine maestro to grab his 6th Ballon d’Or award.
Also read: Antoine Griezmann believes Cristiano Ronaldo will win the Ballon d'Or
"I don't know who will win, [but] for me there is only one who's the best [and] that's Messi," Neymar told 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."
With 20 goals in all competitions so far, Lionel Messi has made a strong start to this season but Ronaldo still remains the favourite to win with some reports even claiming that the Portuguese superstar has already won the award.
Neymar says it will be good if Ronaldo plays for Barcelona
Neymar had earlier praised Real Madrid superstar Ronaldo saying that he was a fan of the Portuguese star.
"I'm a fan of Cristiano; he's a legend, one of a kind. It would be very good if he played for Barcelona," Neymar was quoted as saying by goal.com.
In July, Neymar had even claimed that Ronaldo is the frontrunner for the prize:
The forward was quoted saying: “Ronaldo won the Champions League and now Euro 2016 as well.” He added: “So I believe he is in a good position. Plus, Ronaldo is a great player. I have no qualms in saying that.”
Also read: Steven Gerrard reveals he was supporting Barcelona in the El Clasico
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are set to continue their dominance on the Ballon d’Or award with the pair having won the last 8 editions. Although Antoine Griezmann, Luis Suarez and Neymar himself have had great years, Ronaldo’s and Messi’s standing in the game means that most of the journalists would have voted one of the two and it will be interesting to see who comes out on top on Monday.
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