Lionel Messi ‘a shoo-in’ for record fifth Ballon d’Or, says Spanish football expert Graham Hunter
Spanish football expert Graham Hunter has told talkSPORT Lionel Messi is “a shoo-in” for the 2015 Ballon d’Or, and has questioned why Luis Suarez did not make the final cut for the award.
The winner will be revealed at a gala ceremony in Zurich on January 11, and Hunter believes Argentine ace Messi, who helped Barca win the treble last season, will "romp" to victory.
“It’s going to be Lionel Messi,” he told the Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast.
“He’s a shoo-in and I think, if you look at the way he elevated his game over this past year, it would be completely legitimate.
“This big rivalry between Ronaldo and Messi, where each of them raises their game, it’s excited so many of us…but Messi doesn’t really acknowledge it about Ronaldo.
“Ronaldo, meanwhile, is very open about wanting to win the Ballon d’Or and for him it’s just as important as winning the title and cup with Real Madrid.
“But I think Messi will romp it and I think Neymar will probably come second.”
A list of 23 players, including Wales forward Gareth Bale, was whittled down to three for Monday's announcement, and the omission of Barca star Luis Suarez has caused a minor storm in Spain.
The former Liverpool No.7 has formed a devastating partnership with Messi and Neymar since his arrival at the Nou Camp, with the Uruguayan plundering 40 goals this calendar year so far.
And Hunter revealed that, at a La Liga gala in Barcelona on Monday night, Suarez’s Barca team-mates raised questions over why he was left out.
He added: “Neymar and Messi took the plaudits at the gala, and Neymar made a point of saying it was wrong and that Suarez should be on the podium with them.
“The three of them absolutely adore each other on and off the pitch. In the past, some of the great forward partnerships weren’t very particularly close - I can think of Toshack and Keegan, Cole and Sheringham. It doesn’t have to have a perfect chemistry to work if you’re both clever and both committed to winning.
“But the reason some people are saying this Barcelona front three could be the greatest in history, is that the extra magic comes when you’re working for each other, when you’re friends off the pitch and that generosity spills over into brilliance. And I think that’s a very important mix.”