The ceremony for the Ballon d'Or 2014 winner is just weeks away. Media campaigns have been rampant over the weeks and expect it to intensify as the awarding ceremony date nears. The top three candidates for the prestigious individual award are last year's winner Cristiano Ronaldo, four-time winner Lionel Messi, and 2014 FIFA World Cup Golden Gloves winner Manuel Neuer of Bayern Munich.
So far, Cristiano Ronaldo of Real Madrid has been the overwhelming choice by players and coaches to become the Ballon d'Or 2014 winner. The 29-year old Portuguese superstar has won in almost every level of football. His team won Copa del Rey, UEFA Champions League, and FIFA Club World Cup in one year. He also bagged several individual awards. For this, many thinks it would be a shame if he is not announced as the Ballon d'Or 2014 winner.
While Cristiano Ronaldo dominates Ballon d'Or 2014 winner talks, Barcelona's Xavi has a completely opposite view. In fact , he does not even put the Real Madrid star in top three because of one competition where he and his team flopped, the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Ronaldo and Portugal failed miserably in the Brazil event wherein they didn't get past the group stage. Ronaldo also hardly made an impact.
'The thing is, Cristiano didn't do much in the World Cup and I think that in the year of the World Cup that defines much of the season," the Spain international told Spanish paper 'Sport' when asked about the 2014 Ballon d'Or 2014 candidates.
For Xavi, players who had great performances in the July event are those should be considered for the 2014 Ballon d'Or.
"First Leo (Lionel Messi). Second (Philipp) Lahm and third (Javier) Mascherano,' he said.
Ballon d'Or 2014 will be announced on January 12 next year. Cristiano Ronaldo will vie for his third in his career and become one less than Messi's. For Manuel Neuer, he is not only competing for his first Ballon d'Or award but also to become the first goalkeeper to win it since Soviet goalie Lev Yashin did it in 1963.
