With 2013 winding down, conversation regarding the Ballon d'Or is already taking place. Latinos Post will do a series of articles relating the state of the race. Here are the players that are likely the favorites for the award.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi will undoubtedly be in the running for the competition. Messi has won the award in four straight years and Ronaldo was the last player to win the award prior to Messi's historic run. Both players have continued to have tremendous seasons in 2013; Messi finished with 60 goals in all competitions for Barcelona during the 2012-13 season while Ronaldo had 55 for Real Madrid. Both players have been solid for their countries as well. Messi's Argentina currently sits atop the CONMEBOL qualifiers while Ronaldo's Portugal sits atop his UEFA qualifying group. In his most recent match, Ronaldo helped Portugal pull a comeback against Northern Ireland with three huge goals late in the match.
The other major favorite is Franck Ribery. The Frenchman has already been tabbed as one of the favorites for the trophy by former winner Zinedane Zidane and has already won the UEFA Best Player in Europe Award to solidify his contention.
The other major contender for the award has to be young Brazilian Neymar. The forward had a rough start to the 2013 with mediocre performances for Brazil, but he turned his year around with a huge performance in the FIFA Confederations Cup. Neymar scored four goals for Brazil and added one in the final against Spain to help his country to a huge championship run. He has also had a solid run for Barcelona with a defining goal in the Spanish Super Cup. If Neymar continues his strong play for Barcelona, he could easily be a top three finalist and potentially the winner of the award.