5 best young players according to the Ballon d'Or rankings

#1 Neymar

Age: 25

Rank: 3rd

Neymar will turn 26 in February, meaning he is the oldest player to make this top five, yet he is also the most established and easily the most reputable. He has been scoring goals at the top level in Europe for nearly four and a half years when he moved from Santos to join Barcelona.

Initially, expectations upon the young Brazil striker were sky high and it took him some months to settle, yet he has done so spectacularly, earning himself the reputation as being the game’s outstanding player behind both Messi and Ronaldo.

PSG recognised that when they signed him in the summer for a world record 222 million euros from Barcelona, which was, a deal of seismic proportions.

One of the reasons he moved to France was to get away from the shadow of Lionel Messi in an attempt to win the Ballon d’Or, and if he can help the capital side to Champions League glory over the course of the next six months, he will surely be one of the leading candidates for the individual prize.

He is already installed as PSG’s key player, having built a formidable understanding with Edinson Cavani, despite reports in the media that they do not see eye to eye, and especially Mbappe.

Neymar has continued his prolific scoring form in France but has also been a vital creator of goals for PSG, too. And at just 25, he can get even better…