Messi hopeful of Suarez and Neymar being shortlisted for the Ballon d'Or top three
Lionel Messi hopes that his partners in crime, Luis Suarez and Neymar will share the Ballon d’Or podium with him, Bleacher Report reports.
However, the four-time Ballon d’Or winner believes that the individual award is something which should not garner concerns. The Argentine talisman recently returned from a lengthy absence through an injury and made a substitute appearance in the El Clasico before making a start in the Champions League match against Roma where he scored twice in a 6-1 triumph for the Blaugranes.
"I hope that can happen, but it's not something that we are going to obsess over. I'm sure Ney and Luis think the same way—if that is the way it turns out [the three of them as Ballon d'Or finalists] then great and if not it doesn't matter," Messi said when asked about the possibilities of MSN making it to the top three contenders for the Ballon d’Or.
The trio has scored a total of 121 goals in the calendar year 2015 and they are expected to add a subsequent amount to the tally till the end of this year. Their scintillating goal-scoring form helped Barcelona to a second treble as the club became the first outfit to win the coveted European treble twice.
Both, Neymar and Suarez took the goalscoring burden for the Catalan club after Messi was ousted through an injury in September. The Brazilian is leading the highest scorers chart in the La Liga with Suarez just one goal behind him with eleven goals.
The World Cup finalist was happy after returning to full fitness and making a start after a gap of two months for the club.
“I'm happy because of the final score and for the fact that I was able to play 90 minutes. I am taking it one step at a time and luckily it's going well. We never said that the team was totally reliant on me and it showed while I was out. It was tough for me being out but I enjoyed myself watching the way the team played,” he said.
The bond between the three players became quite evident when Neymar was allowed to take a penalty late in the match against Roma so that he can register his name on the scoresheet, even though both Messi and Suarez were on a hat-trick.
However, the Brazilian failed to convert the penalty but he had already played his part in the dismantling of the Giallorossi defense by then.