FC Barcelona striker Neymar believes his teammate Lionel Messi will win the 2015 FIFA Ballon d'Or award after leading the Catalans to impressive performance this year.
Messi, a four-time Ballon d'Or winner, led FC Barcelona to a treble this season, winning the UEFA Champions League, Copa Del Rey and the Spanish La Liga crown.
For Neymar, their achievements next season are enough to prove that Messi should win the 2015 Ballon d'Or over usual foe Cristiano Ronaldo of Real Madrid.
Ronaldo, who won the prestigious award for the past two seasons, failed to help Real Madrid win a trophy this season after leading Los Blancos to Champions League success last year.
"This year the best in the world is no longer up for grabs. Messi deserves it, for all he has done," Neymar said of Messi, who became the all-time Champions League and Spanish La Liga leading scorer this year.
But while he thinks Messi will be a runaway winner this year, Neymar also added that he is aiming to be one of the finalist for the 2015 Ballon d'Or award.
"We will have to see if I can get into the top three," said Neymar, who finished seventh in the race last year.
Neymar, who will reportedly get a new deal from FC Barcelona this summer, had 22 goals in 29 Spanish LA Liga games and 10 goals in 12 Champions League appearances this season. The Brazilian talisman also scored goals in the quarterfinals, semifinals and finals of the Champions League.
Fellow Brazilian Jose Edmilson, who played at Camp Nou from 2004-2008, thinks Neymar will make it into the top three of the 2015 FIFA Ballon d'Or award race.
"He'll be nominated. I'm sure he will be one of the three finalists," Edmilson told Marca.
Edmilson, who has been following the career of the Brazilian striker, added that Neymar has shown significant improvement in his game and has matured a lot over the past several seasons.
"I've always said that Neymar would get better as time went on," Edmilson said. "It was difficult for him at first but now he has learned that tactical discipline. He spends less and less time on the floor. They lay into him but he stays on his feet. He's still got a little way to go but personally I'm happy with the way he's adapted."
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