Top 5 Ballon d'Or contenders if Messi and Ronaldo were disqualified

With the end of the Copa America, we have entered the second half of the calendar year, which also means that we are halfway through to knowing who will win the 2015 Ballon D'Or. Experience dictates that it is too premature to be predicting the winner at this stage, with at least five months of football still ahead of us.Only the Brazilian Kaka has managed to break the stronghold the big two have largely maintained over the competition in recent years so it may even be fair to say that only standing on that stage alongside Messi and Ronaldo is a bit of an honour. However, if we added a twist, things would get interesting. What if the supreme duo were not eligible for the honour, Messi disqualified for being too good and Ronaldo banned for scoring too many goals, who would then take over the mantle?Things can change a lot in the period. Nevertheless, the performances that we have seen over the first half of 2015 lead us to pick some players who have set the pace early on. Of course, this is apart from the usual suspects Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, who would be shoe-ins to make the final shortlist.Here are the top 5 Ballon D'Or contenders so far (apart from Messi and Ronaldo):

#1 Neymar

Just when everybody thought Neymar had finally solved his temperament problems and was playing the best football of his career, everything fell apart. After starting the Copa America with a brilliant performance against Peru, the Brazil skipper showed his self-destructive side when he lost his cool against Colombia. The four-match ban that followed all but sealed Brazil's fate in the tournament. It also raised an important question: is Neymar ready to rule at the top once Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo hang up their boots?

The question is pertinent to our discussion because up until that point, Neymar had been having a superb season, the best of his career so far. Not only did he score 39 goals as part of the fiery M-S-N attack in Barcelona's victorious treble campaign but he also made his case for a Ballon D'Or nomination with a sensational 2015, scoring 30 times in the first half of this year and making 4 assists. He capped it all by scoring with the last kick of the game in the Champions League final.

An equally superb Copa would have given him much-needed impetus but seeing the way things turned out, there are those who are tempted to write him off. However, this is the same player who has shown remarkable perseverance in beating the odds and improving consistently, so I wouldn't make such an early call.

If he can pick up the pieces and start all over, trying to make amends wearing a Barcelona jersey, Neymar will definitely be among the contenders for the 2015 Ballon D'Or.

#2 Arturo Vidal

Arturo Vidal’s case is eerily close to Neymar’s but thankfully for the Chilean, it seems to have turned out much better for him in the end. Losing out to Neymar’s Barcelona in the fight for the treble will have been tough, but Vidal did have a pretty great domestic season with Juventus. Although he did not match his personal scoring records, he did come up with some crucial goals, including the one against Sampdoria that sealed the Bianconeri’s fourth successive Scudetto.

When Juve defeated Lazio in the Coppa Italia final to make it a double, Vidal was at his combative best, dominating the midfield for 120 minutes. And so, Champions League disappointment notwithstanding, Vidal put a different cherry on the cake by winning the Copa America with Chile.

After starring in the tense opener against Ecuador and the feisty draw against Mexico, Vidal’s good times came to a crashing end. Returning from a night out with his wife, Vidal wrecked his Ferrari and was arrested for drunk driving. Although he was lucky to escape with only minor injuries, Rey Arturo did not, however, escape the bad publicity. With many transfer suitors reportedly disappointed, the car crash saga was threatening to put a heavy dent in his reputation.

And yet, somehow, Vidal seems to have recovered from all that. In marshalling Chile to a first-ever Copa America title, he has been able to deflect some of the criticism. His challenge now, is to put the unsavoury chapter behind him and reach greater heights next season. If done right, it could lead to a Ballon D’Or nomination.

#3 Luis Suarez

This time last year, Luis Suarez was in the midst of the biggest controversy of his eventful career. Fast forward 12 months and we are left to wonder how much a year can change a person. Despite the hefty ban he received for allegedly biting Giorgio Chiellini at the 2014 World Cup, Barcelona signed him from Liverpool for the enormous sum of 81 million euros. It was evidently a big risk but Barca took it because behind all the controversies, lies one of the world’s most amazing natural footballing talents.

At the end of the season, the overwhelming verdict is that Suarez is well on his way to making himself out to be worth every penny. After sitting out the first two months due to the ban, he only made his debut in late October. The start was quiet; Suarez could only find the net thrice before the new year. But once 2015 came around, there was simply no stopping him.

He took his time finding his feet alongside Lionel Messi and Neymar and before we knew it, a resurgent Suarez had jumped into action. He scored 23 goals and made 17 assists in 2015, including a crucial goal in the Champions League final win against Juventus that sealed the treble for Barcelona. On the way, he helped put away some of Europe’s top teams, including Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain.

The good news is that there’s more to him than just the goals and assists. The past season saw a different Luis Suarez, one who has made a conscious attempt to keep away from the negative headlines. Controversy has not followed Suarez to Catalonia and it only bodes well for player and club. Continue it all into next season and there may be talk of a Ballon D’Or.

#4 Eden Hazard

'This has always been my dream, when I first arrived at the training centre of Lille, I told my coach that one day I would become the Ballon d'Or winner...Unfortunately, there are two extraterrestrials in football, Messi and Ronaldo, and it will be hard to dislodge them. I'm working hard for that.'

When Eden Hazard talked to a The Daily Mail about his Ballon D’Or dreams, he made sure to mention his adulation for Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. He didn’t want to be seen as arrogant. However, with the kind of displays the Belgian star puts up every season, there are lots of voices across the footballing world echoing the sentiment that he has some serious Ballon D’Or potential.

Those voices have become louder after Hazard’s most impressive season to date. 2015 saw him rack up 10 goals and 5 assists as Chelsea first won the League Cup and then went on to break a five-year long Premier League title drought in dominant fashion. Hazard was phenomenal throughout the season and fittingly, it was his goal against Crystal Palace that confirmed the league title.

In a season which also featured the starring roles of Diego Costa and Cesc Fabregas, the hallmark of Hazard’s game was consistency. From the beginning and till the very end, his high levels of performance didn’t drop. As a consequence, he was deservedly adjudged both the PFA Players’ Player of the Year and the FWA Footballer of the Year.

After that historic season, Hazard can rightly claim a Ballon D’Or nomination but with his potential, he can probably go much higher. As he says, it may be hard to dislodge Messi and Ronaldo, but a podium finish is not impossible if he keeps up what he is doing.

#5 Alexis Sanchez

The last person on this list is probably the happiest of the lot at the moment.

Alexis Sanchez entered the Copa America final having scored only one goal in the tournament prior to the title decider. It was his chance to strike when it matters the most but unfortunately for him, he missed what could have been a glorious winner when his volley flew just wide of the post. And then, another chance opened up.

The decisive penalty kick in the shootout, a chance to give Chile what it could not achieve for 99 years - a Copa America triumph. He stepped up and send an audacious dinked finish to the middle of the goal. Cue mad celebrations.

It was an image that would be engraved forever in Chilean footballing annals. But Sanchez's big Copa moment was perfect for another reason too. It came at the end of an excellent debut season at Arsenal, where he led the way with 10 goals and 5 assists in 2015. The Gunners failed to make a serious push for the title, but without Sanchez’s goals, the season could have been a disaster. The Chilean provided some crucial strikes, including the one against Besiktas that sent Arsenal into the Champions League and a stunning strike in the FA Cup final win.

Although Sanchez’s stats may not come up to that of some of his rivals, you know there’s something special when Thierry Henry calls him "Arsenal's best signing of the last six years."

If he can build on the Copa America euphoria with an explosive start to the 2015/16 season, he might as well have a long shot at the Ballon D’Or nominations.