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Xavi: 'Lionel Messi has to win Ballon d'Or'

Lionel Messi deserves to win the Ballon d'Or ahead of Barcelona teammate Neymar and Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo, according to Spanish veteran Xavi.

Former Barcelona midfielder Xavi has claimed that Lionel Messi deserves to win the 2015 Ballon d'Or ahead of teammate Neymar and Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo.

Messi, Neymar and Ronaldo were named on the three-man shortlist last week, and the former is seen as the favourite to lift the accolade for a fifth time.

Xavi has said that the Argentine "has to" be awarded the prize once again, but the 35-year-old, who now represents Al-Sadd, also paid tribute to the rise of Neymar.

"Lionel Messi has to win the Ballon d'Or. They're at the same level but he's better than Neymar. Football has changed a lot. Diego Maradona did what Messi is doing 30 years ago, but for me Messi is the best," Xavi told Marca.

Ronaldo, who scored 61 times in 54 appearances last season, has won the Ballon d'Or in each of the last two years.

The winner will be announced in Zurich on January 11.

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Barcelona's Brazilian forward Neymar da Silva Santos Junior (L) and Barcelona's Argentinian forward Lionel Messi (R) celebrate after scoring a goal during the Spanish league football match FC Barcelona vs Getafe at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona on Apr
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TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
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2Real Madrid1393128111730
3Atletico MadridAtletico148512181329
4Villarreal137422521425
5Athletic Bilbao146532013723
6Osasuna146441922-322
7GironaGirona146352018221
8Mallorca146351312121
9Real BetisBetis145541616020
10Real Sociedad145361111018
11Celta Vigo145362224-218
12Sevilla145361318-518
13Rayo Vallecano134451314-116
14Leganes143561319-614
15Getafe142751011-113
16AlavesAlaves144191524-913
17Las PalmasLas Palmas143381825-712
18Valencia122461219-710
19Espanyol133191226-1410
20Real ValladolidValladolid142391027-179


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