Ballon d'Or: Why Lionel Messi should beat Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar

Bookies don't print money. If this morning’s Ballon d'Or odds are anything to go by, those rogues who put money on Cristiano Ronaldo or Neymar might as well have slotted their cash down the nearest drain.

Lionel Messi, Barcelona’s chief architect, is the red-hot favourite with odds as short as 1/33. Even for someone with the enigmatic Argentinian’s CV, it’s been quite a year.

The Catalan giants, who have nurtured the 5ft 7in star since the turn of the millennium, reaffirmed their dominance over European football with an emphatic treble.

The La Liga crown was snatched back from Atletico Madrid while the Copa del Rey was scooped up with little fuss before Juventus were picked apart in the Champions League final. Messi, as always, was right in the thick of it for Luis Enrique’s men.

For club and country, Messi scored a stunning 52 goals in 61 appearances – notching a handsome 26 assists along the way. The 28-year-old recovered from the disappointment of 2014, and the heartbreak of losing to Germany in the World Cup final, to once again lead from the front for Geraldo Martino’s men.

Eight of his 105 international caps fell in the 2015 calendar year. Typically, Messi lit them all up with the consummate ease sometimes lacked by his two rivals tonight, scoring four goals and garnishing his displays with three assists.

Ronaldo may bring power, athleticism and a deadly eye for goal. Neymar might possess a box of tricks envied even by magicians. But few players will ever combine the two skillsets with such effortless style. Not even a nasty knee injury could stand in his way.

Brazil legend Pele, an icon of a bygone era, is far more equipped to lend a hand to this argument than journalists and punters.

“Of course, in the last ten years, Messi is the best player,” the 75-year-old once said.

No player has ever won as many Ballon d’Or awards than Barcelona’s main man, a testament to the emphatic dominance the Rosario-born forward has enjoyed at the Nou Camp.

If it was a popularity contest in Zurich this evening, Messi would stroll away from the lavish auditorium, adorning an inevitably garish suit, with the award tucked safely under his arm.

But 2015 was also the year Barca’s Mr Reliable scored in six different club competitions before delivering a match-winning display at the Olympiastadion in Berlin to win his fourth European Cup.

Boasting an 87% pass completion rate that night, Messi reaffirmed his place as the ultimate No.10 in world football. Slicing through the Italians’ backline on the grandest scale of them all, Messi looked like he could do it all blindfolded if the necessity presented itself.

Ronaldo and Neymar, despite their undeniable brilliance, occasionally frustrate audiences. One minute you’re jumping for joy like a child, the next you’re resisting the temptation to kick a hole in the television screen.

Diego Simeone, the Atletico manager who has been haunted by the Barca ace all too often, settles the debate once and for all.

“Diego Maradona filled us with emotions,” the 45-year-old said. “But between the cracks, without doubt, Messi is better than Maradona.”