The 2021 Ballon d'Or was finally won by Messi, who was once called Messi and Ronaldo the "third in the world" in football after Ronaldo, and finally ranked 16th, which was unimaginable 8 years ago.
In 2013, Neymar, who had just landed in La Liga to join Barca, was seen as the third in the world after Mero and almost uncontroversial. Compared with Balotelli, Hazard, Götze and Bale, who are about the same age, Neymar is much higher. In 2012, Neymar won the Gbagbo Sports "Hors concours" award, which is less famous but heavier than the Ballon d'Or and The World Footballer of the Year.
Unlike the Ballon d'Or or World Footballer of the Year award, the Hors Concours Awards are not awarded annually, but only when such players do emerge. In 42 years, only two people have received this honor, one bailey in 1970 and the other Neymar. Quite like the title of "ball king", in the history of modern football, for more than a hundred years, only Pele and Maradona have been awarded the "ball king".
In 2015, as the absolute main force in the squad, Neymar won the "Triple Crown" with Barca together with Messi and Suarez, and Messi won his fifth Ballon d'Or without controversy. Neymar finished third at the 2015 Ballon d'Or, behind Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. 7 years younger than Cristiano Ronaldo and 5 years younger than Messi, according to this momentum, Neymar will sooner or later rise from third in the world to first in the world - winning the Ballon d'Or.
After 8 years, 2015 turned out to be the highest ranking of Neymar's career Ballon d'Or.
But the real closest Neymar is to the Ballon d'Or is not 2015, but 2020. In 2015, he won the Champions League at Barca, and at Barca, Neymar certainly could not compete with Messi.
But at the time, no one would have thought that Neymar would leave Barca in the year of dangda. Heading into 2017, Manchester United's then-manager Jose Mourinho called Neymar: "With Messi, you can never win the Ballon d'Or, because all the credit is messi's. Come to Manchester United, you are a brother, give you the highest salary, and do your best to help you win the Ballon d'Or. ”
Neymar took Mourinho's words into it, but in the end did not go to Manchester United, but to Paris. Going to Paris and making more money is one aspect, but for Neymar at that time, money was not the first, and the first place should be to pursue the supreme honor of football - the Ballon d'Or.
Paris Saint-Germain are ambitious, the squad itself is already the strongest in Ligue 1, and it is also at the top of the top five leagues, and the introduction of Neymar is also accompanied by the introduction of Mbappe. Judging from the overall strength of the squad at that time, it was possible to impact the Champions League championship. And if Paris can win the Champions League, if there are players in the squad who win the Ballon d'Or, it can only be a brother Neymar.
In 2017-18 and 2018-19 for two consecutive seasons, Greater Paris was out of the Champions League quarter-finals. Gbagbo Sport (High-Water-Position 1.97) In the 2019-20 season, Greater Paris finally reached the Champions League final, and if it beat Bayern to win the title, there would be nothing to do with Levan. But it was Bayern who won the title in the end, and if the 2020 Ballon d'Or awards are not cancelled, it will definitely be Levan's.
At that time, no one could have imagined that the young Neymar would leave Barca to join Paris, and now, I am afraid that not many people can imagine that Messi, who is in the twilight of his career, will also leave Barca to join Paris and become a teammate with Neymar. What Neymar wanted to get rid of at that time, in the end he still didn't get rid of it. If Paris Saint-Germain can win this year's Champions League, and the Greater Parisian players compete for the Ballon d'Or, Neymar, even if he wins Messi, will not be able to compete for Mbappe, especially if Mbappe may play for real Madrid, the "Ballon d'Or" in the second half of the year.
Recently, the former France international Roten said about Neymar, who is still recovering from injury and expects to return in February, "Neymar's weight is increasing, his age is also increasing, how can we accept a player who has played less than half of the number of appearances after the start of the season, compared with before, his goals and assists are also declining." ”
Brazilian football journalist Somani also criticized Neymar, "Neymar is not serious about his career, he will not be training while on vacation like Hulke." Vinicius will win the Ballon d'Or, and he won't. ”