In 2014, it appeared that Manuel Neuer would be the man to put to an end Cristiano Ronaldo's and Lionel Messi's complete dominance over the Ballon d'Or, but it wasn't to be… Is there anybody that can stop them?
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Today, we take a look at which players will be in line to end the Ronaldo-Messi dominance that has defined the Ballon d'Or award for the past seven years. It would take a very special player to beat both Ronaldo and Messi to the award, so here are the players who could match that criteria.
Firstly, Mario Gotze could be the man to claim the award. It is only a matter of time before Mario Gotze emerges as a superstar with his club, Bayern Munich - one of the few clubs consistently performing at the highest possible level in recent years.
Gotze was already labelled as "the German Messi" when he was going through his breakthrough season with Borussia Dortmund in 2010/11, where he won the Bundesliga title. At the age of 22, he has come fairly close to living up to that title, having earned a move to Bayern Munich in 2013. He has also won the World Cup with Germany (scoring the winning goal in the final) as well as several other trophies, which makes him, perhaps, the player best poised to win a Ballon d'Or in the near future. Should Bayern Munich win another Champions League title with him leading the line, you couldn't write him off as a contender for the 2015 Ballon d'Or.
Secondly, Neymar has already established himself as Lionel Messi's natural successor at Barcelona, after joining the club in the summer of 2013 and proving his worth so far this season. Like Ronaldinho passed the baton onto Messi in 2008, when Barcelona was going through a crisis, we could see a similar story after Barcelona entered another crisis and Messi has, reportedly, been looking to join a new club. There's certainly no doubt that Neymar has the talent to set the world alight, given that we've already experienced him doing so in his national team colours. If he can become the man to turn Barcelona's poor fortunes around, Neymar may just be the player that takes world football by storm. At the age of 22, he, like Gotze, has plenty of time to do so as well.
Lastly, Gareth Bale has all of the makings of a star, and forms part of Real Madrid's superstar team. Bale possesses a similar playing style to his teammate, Cristiano Ronaldo, except that he's left-footed. But, like Ronaldo, he rose to prominence in the Premier League and became the most expensive player in the world when he joined the Spanish giants in 2013.
Furthermore, he is fast, powerful and can score goals. Important goals too! His first season at Real Madrid ended in the Décima conquest and he's in line to earn several more accolades with his club. Perhaps when Cristiano Ronaldo's career starts to run out of steam, he will be the man to take over the reins in the Spanish capital. However, at 25, he cannot be expected to grow much more as a player, like we can expect from Neymar and Gotze.
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Who else do you think could take over the reins from Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi? Have your say in the comments section below.
