Ballon d'Or: Who Becomes The Best Player In The World

Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Neymar da Silva are the three shortlisted candidates for the Ballon d'or Award and it is no surprise that the English Premier league and other leagues has once again failed to produce a candidate in the final third for the most prestigious individual award. Below are some quick about the trio.

The three most prolific forwards have yet again registered their names as the candidates who will be vying for votes across the continents from coaches and captains of various teams. Ronaldo is the current holder of the award after winning it back to back to make it three and he will be hope to make this his third in a roll and his fourth in total so has to equal his running mate and rival Messi who has won it on four occasions back to back. Ronaldo has scored 48goals so far for club and country, 45goals for club and goals for country, he's two goals shy of his usual 50 goals mark which he started from 2010/2011 season, after he fell short with 38goals. But since then he has been always scoring more than 50goals every season. In 2015 his club Real Madrid didn't win any trophy but he won some individual awards such as UEFA Champions League top scorer (4th), joint with his two rivals, Messi and Neymar, he also won the European Golden Shoe, was also the La liga player of the month in May, European and La Liga team of the season, 2014/2015.

Lionel Messi, the only player to have won the Ballon d'Or four time back to back, he's also listed to contest in this year's award, he's had a very good year, but recently, he was down with injury, the injury came in Barcelona 2-1 victory over Las Palmas on Sept. 26, as he damaged his internal collateral ligament and he it was estimated for recovery of seven-to-eight weeks, but he returned back on the 21st of November 2015, he came in on the 57th minute to replace Rakitic, he didn't score in the game though but has gone since then to score 3goals in his last 3appearance to make his goals 48 for both club and country, 4goals for Argentina and 44 for Barcelona. This year he has won the La Liga, Copa del Rey, UEFA Champions League, and UEFA Super Cup with Barcelona, runner-up at Copa America, losing to Chile in the final. personally he has won Goal 50 Player Of The Year (4 times now), Best International Athlete ESPY Award (twice), UEFA's Best Player in Europe Award, UEFA Champions League Goal of the Season, UEFA Champions League Genius Moment of the Season. He is the player with the most appearances as a Ballon d'Or finalist as he has been nominated 8times winning it on four occasions, coming 2nd on four occasions and this year's nomination makes its his 9th nominations and hopefully, he gets to win it this time.

Neymar da Silva, this is going to be his first time making the final three and he is hopeful he can break the Messi-Ronaldo dominance and judging by his current form it is only far to say yes he has a chance. Just like Messi, Neymar also contributed heavily to the success of Barca, winning the second treble of domestic league, domestic cup and European cup with them. He also became the eighth player in football's history to win both the Copa Libertadores and the UEFA Champions League, and the first player to score in final victories in both competitions, he also made name for himself with Suarez and Messi to become the highest scoring trio, they had 122goals in a season. He had 39 of the goals. He was also UEFA Champions League Top scorer alongside with his running mate for the award, all tiered on 10goals each, he was later named in the UEFA Champions League Team of the Season.

The winners will be announced at a gala in Zurich on 11 January, other categories nominated are:

World coach of the year for men's football:

1. Luis Enrique (Barcelona- ESP) after leading Barcelona to their Champions League, La Liga and Spanish Cup and Super Cup triumphs. I tip him to win the award.

2. Pep Guardiola (Bayern Munich- ESP) led Bayern Munich to the Bundesliga title.

3. Jorge Sampaoli (Chile) also led Chile to their first Copa America title this summer.

Women's world player of the year:

1. Carli Lloyd (Hoston Dash - USA) she has represented the United States at three FIFA Women's World Cup tournaments: the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup, in which she helped the U.S. win bronze; the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup, in which the U.S. won silver; and the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, where Lloyd scored a hat trick in the final in captaining the U.S. to its third title. I think she's the favourite to win the award.

2. Aya Miyama (Okayama Yunogo Belle- Japan) She has appeared in every FIFA Women's World Cup since 2003, and was a member of the Japanese team that captured the 2011 World Cup championship. Miyama also led Japan to a silver medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. Her professional squad is Okayama Yunogo Belle of the L. League. She also helped Japan to a Silver medal at the FIFA Women World Cup, after losing to the United States to secure their third title. She's also the bronze ball winner at the tournament, she's currently the AFC women's player of the year. She's my number three, she's definitely coming third.  

3. Celia Sasic (1. FFC Frankfurt - Germany) She was part of Germany's squads claiming bronze at the 2008 Summer Olympics and winning the title at the 2009 European Championship, where she scored in the semi-final against Norway. At both tournaments, she was a reserve player with limited playing time. Šašić was called up for the German 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup squad. She was part of the victorious German team at UEFA Women's Euro 2013. She was part of the German team at FIFA Women's World Cup 2015. She scored a hat- trick in Germany's opening game against Ivory Coast on 7 June 2015, and would lead the tournament with six goals, scoring twice against Sweden in a 4-1 victory in the Round of 16, along with a penalty kick goal against France in the quarterfinals.

World coach of the year for women's football:

1. Jill Ellis (UK - USA) It's wonderful a coach from United Kingdom is coaching the United States Women National team, as if that's not enough, she's already a winner of the World cup with United States, leading them to their 3rd title.

2. Mark Sampson (Wales - England) A male coach in charge of a Female National Team, is not always a custom you get to see around Europe, In March 2015 England won the Cyprus Cup. In the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup later in the year, he led England to the semi-finals, marking the first time England had won a match beyond the group stage of a World Cup. After losing the semi-final to Japan, England secured victory in the match for third place, beating Germany for the first time in 21 games.

3. Norio Sasaki ( Japan - Japan) He served as coach of the women's U-20 team starting in 2006, and was named coach of the national team in 2008. He coached the team in the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup, which upset host nation Germany and then Sweden to reach the tournament final, where they defeated the United States on penalty kicks to win their first FIFA Women's World Cup. At the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada, Sasaki, who attempted to become only the 2nd coach since Vittorio Pozzo's Italian team 77 years ago to win two FIFA World Cup finals, oversaw a 2nd-place effort, as the Japanese lost 5-2 to the U.S.A in the final.

Puskas award:

1. Alessandro Florenzi: Florenzi's goal came against Messi's team, although the star wasn't playing, in a Champions League match for Roma earlier this season. The Italian midfielder picks up the ball in his own half, beats a man on the right- hand touchline and spots Marc-Andre Ter Stegen off his line, floating the ball all the way over the German's head and into the far corner.

2. Wendell Lira: His goal comes from the Brazilian league, where the acrobatic Lira, who now plays for Vila Nova, scored a superb bicycle kick for Goianesia. The 26-year-old plays a little one-two before continuing his run - the dinked pass is then volleyed home.

3. Lionel Messi - His solo goal against Athletic Bilbao in the Copa del Rey final which Barcelona won. Picking the ball up just inside the opposition half, Messi beats four defenders before firing a brilliant shot into the near post. Anyone can vote for the winner of the award, by visiting the Fifa website. Last year Real Madrid forward James Rodriguez won the award for his superb volley in the World Cup while playing for Colombia.

Compiled by: Adekunle Adewale (@hrhmayowa)