There was no doubts as to which 2 players were the top contenders for the FIFA best player’s award with numerous pundits and critics singling out Cristiano Ronaldo for the coveted award, citing his performances with Real Madrid, whom he helped win their 11th UEFA Champions League title and leading Portugal to European glory as the reason that he deserved to win the trophy.
With Lionel Messi always in contention for the award, courtesy of his mesmerising performances every time he stepped on the pitch, the intriguing question that occupied the minds of football fans worldwide was who would be nominated for the third spot and the committee certainly did surprise us by choosing Antoine Griezmann over the likes of Neymar.
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FIFA returns to its original award this year after it’s partnership with Ballon d’Or ended in 2015 and this year’s best footballer would be chosen by fans and journalists from across the globe and thus far, there has been just one person on the mind of every person, courtesy of the way he has managed to turn the sides he has played into the ones to beat, Cristiano Ronaldo.
Neymar deserves to be in the top 3 nominees ahead of Antoine Griezmann
While he might have begun the season in a rather underwhelming fashion, there is no evidence that suggests that the player performed below his abilities through the last season with Barcelona and with Brazil. He was in marauding form alongside Messi and Luis Suarez and played a crucial role in the side winning the La Liga and then continued his glorious run by bringing home the missing Olympics football gold medal as the captain of the side.
While the goals that he scored for his club and country in themselves might suffice to put in a strong case for the Brazilian, having found the back of the net on 31 occasions in 49 appearances last season, it is actually the way he combined with the duo of Messi and Suarez and tormented defenders week in and week out truly puts him amongst the top 3 players in the world. He had an incredible 20 assists across all competitions last season and in the process, ensuring that he played a direct hand in over 50 goals scored by Barcelona last season.
Yes, Griezman too made a case for himself courtesy of his performances with Atletico Madrid and France in Euro 2016, his overall impact could be deemed lesser than that of Neymar, or even that of Luis Suarez considering that he played in the number 9 role and largely had to finish the good work of his teammates than opening up the defence time and again. While he did score 32 goals across competitions for Atletico Madrid last season, the fact that he assisted just 6 goals 51 appearances serves as an indication of why Neymar deserves to be amongst the top 3 players in the world.
With no disrespect to Griezmann, Neymar certainly was one of the best players on the planet through the last season and it intrigues us as to why he was not picked ahead of the Frenchman and we hope he can be recognised for his performances when the Ballon d’Or list is announced.
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