There are few greater honours in professional football than the Ballon d'Or. Team accolades will always be the number one priority, but individual success is, rightly or wrongly, very important for players that operate at the top level.
For each of the last seven years, the Ballon d'Or has been utterly dominated by Neymar's club teammate Lionel Messi and Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo. Messi has won the award on four occasions, Ronaldo three, including each of the last two.
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Andres Iniesta, Xavi, Franck Ribery and Manuel Neuer have been among the challengers over the past five years, but Messi and Ronaldo have been either first or second in the last four editions and indeed rightly so.
Up until this point, few could argue with the Messi and Ronaldo domination. The two sensations have been streets ahead of their competition and plainly speaking, they remain the best two players in world football as we head into 2016.
Now Burnley midfielder Joey Barton caused quite a stir in March 2013 when he posted the following tweet:
Neymar is the Justin Bieber of football. Brilliant on the old You Tube. Cat piss in reality...
— Joseph Barton (@Joey7Barton) March 25, 2013
Some agreed, some did not. After arriving at Barcelona from Santos in 2013, Neymar scored 15 times in 41 appearances during his debut season at Camp Nou. It was an underwhelming start, with inconsistency plaguing the young Brazilian.
The 2014-15 campaign proved memorable for Barcelona as they won the treble, however, and Neymar's goals were a key part of the success. He scored 39 times in 51 appearances for the Catalan giants, including goals in both legs of the Champions League quarter-final and semi-final, before netting in the final against Juventus.
Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar received most of the attention as a three, but it was Neymar whose maturity and confidence were shining as the months progressed. Now, being named the best player of 2015 of course takes international matters into consideration and what might go against Neymar is the 2015 Copa America, where the 23-year-old was sent off, missing the latter stages of the competition and only managing one goal.
The attacker has netted four times in seven appearances for Brazil in 2015, however, and as it stands, has struck 46 times in 67 caps for his South American nation. He arguably has another 10, 12 years at the top level, but is already Brazil's fifth highest goal-scorer of all time. Pele's record, which some thought would never be beaten, is in his sights.
With Messi currently on the sidelines and Ronaldo just struggling for top form at the moment, Neymar's excellent form could not have come at a better time. The voting for the Ballon d'Or opened on October 26 and finishes on November 20. With that in mind, Neymar could not have done much more to give himself a chance.
Neymar has 33 club goals this calendar year and has had a direct hand in 19 goals across the league and Champions League this season. Thirteen of those have come from the Brazilian himself, while he has also provided six assists.
A scrappy deflected effort which falls into the back of the net is worth the same as a wonderful individual goal, but there is no question that the latter grabs the attention. At the weekend, Neymar scored one of the goals of the season against Villarreal when he flicked the ball over the head of his marker before finishing into the back of the net. That cued a response from Barton, who seemed to be having second thoughts:
Starting to slowly regret that Neymar tweet...
— Joseph Barton (@Joey7Barton) November 8, 2015
Barcelona's season might well have tailed off when Messi picked up a serious knee injury in September, but Neymar, along with Suarez, has carried the fight this season. Goals and assists are obviously paramount, but it is the way that Neymar plays the game that brings such joy to the supporters. He plays the same way in front of 96,000 spectators as he would back on the streets of Brazil.
There were too many flicks, too many step-overs, too much of everything when he first arrived at Barcelona, but now everything he does has a purpose, has a meaning. He brings supporters to the edge of their seats and makes them dream, which after all, is what football should be about, but that is not the case in the financially-motivated modern day.
"The next Ballon d'Or already has an owner. For everything he did this year, Messi deserves it. Let's see if I can get myself among the top three," were the words uttered by Neymar in June.
His relationship with Messi, despite what was initially thought, has blossomed and there is no doubting that he means those words. However, as a professional sportsman, he might well have an inkling that a change in power could be occurring. The Ballon d'Or is about overall performance levels and at the moment, there is not a better player in world football.
"I do not know who will be 2015 best player in the world, but in my humble opinion, respecting Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi and others, Neymar deserves to be the best in the world," Rivaldo recently wrote on his Instagram account.
There is going to be support from Brazil for Neymar, especially against the Argentine Messi, but those backing the former Santos attacker are starting to grow louder from elsewhere. One swallow does not make a summer, but if you can shout loud enough, it will be heard. Or perhaps more importantly, it will be noticed.
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Ronaldo scored 61 times in 54 appearances for Real Madrid last season, but there was no La Liga title, no Champions League and no Copa del Rey for the 30-year-old. Messi did enjoy all three of those trophies, however, and also hit 58 goals in all competitions. It would not be unjust if either Ronaldo or Messi picked up the next Ballon d'Or, but Neymar has made a very strong case. It should not be a simple case of who will finish first out of Ronaldo and Messi, not this time around.
Since November 22, 2014, Neymar has scored 33 times in 45 appearances, in addition to registering 12 assists. He has also provided 114 key passes and made 64 tackles - double that of Messi and three times more than Ronaldo. The penny seems to have dropped for Neymar - goals and assists are important, but being a contributor to the team takes players to the next level.
Neymar might not win the Ballon d'Or ahead of Ronaldo and Messi. However, a power switch is occurring. Ronaldo and Messi will not go on forever - age catches up with us all - but there is an individual ready to take on the position as the best player in world football.
Ask La Liga defenders this season who they have struggled the most against. Neymar has sent that many full-backs for a bag of chips that the supply is slowly dying out in Spain. His touch and skills have never been in doubt, but now there is an end product. That does not just mean goals and assists, but a constant and never-ending threat.
Born in Mogi das Cruzes on February 5, 1992, Neymar is no longer the 'YouTube player' that Barton described.
Matt Law
