neymar
Barcelona dropped a 1-0 decision against Villarreal on Saturday. When Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid won their respective matches this weekend, the defending Spanish Champions found themselves in third place and four points out of first place.
The Cristiano Ronaldo vs. Lionel Messi debate has gone on for years due to the fact that the two players are arguably the best in the world and play for the fiercest rival clubs in the sport.
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are both the favorites to take home the Ballon d'Or in 2014.But there are a few other stars that could make life difficulty for them. Here are the other top contenders for the award in 2014.
Neymar will get an early vacation this January.
On Sunday, Barcelona accrued its second straight loss of the year. On Tuesday, the team lost 2-1 in the Champions League against Ajax and on Sunday, the loss was a 1-0 scoreline against Athletic Bilbao. While past Barcelona teams have lost (and emphatically), this pair of losses might truly signal the end of Barcelona's stronghold atop the Spanish League.
Brazil and Honduras will face off in a friendly match in Miami on Saturday.
Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Franck Ribery are often cited as the top players in contention for the Ballon d'Or. However, Neymar should also be considered in that group as well. Messi's latest injury hurts his position considerably potentially giving his Barcelona teammate a chance to get into the finalists. Here is why Neymar is a top contender for this year's Best Player of the Year award.
Throughout the early part of 2013 Zinedane Zidane compared Gareth Bale with Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Bale's no-show performance this season has withdrawn him from the conversation but Neymar has since taken his place. The Brazilian phenom dominated the Confederations Cup and has had a solid start at Barcelona. Some are already claiming that he will top his teammate and Ronaldo in the near future.
It took six Spanish League matches, but Neymar finally scored his first goal of the season for Barcelona in Tuesday's win over Real Sociedad.
Barcelona's Argentinean center-back, Javier Mascherano, left the pitch during the match against Real Sociedad after suffering an accidental collision with his own teammate, Sergio Busquets.
Neymar is still looking for his first Spanish League goal of the season and questions are starting to crop up about whether or not he is harming his own game in Barcelona's style.
Brazil looks to be an early favorite for the World Cup next summer, but superstar Neymar has pointed out that coach Luiz Felipe Scolari may have a hard time selecting his top 23 players.
Despite his terrific performances in 2013, Neymar continues to draw harsh criticism. His latest critic was Australian striker Archie Thompson. However, the Brazilian not only fired back at the criticism of Thompson, but put on a terrific performance against his team when the teams sides met on Saturday.
Neymar is now a member of Barcelona, but one of the teams that was rumored to have interest in the Brazilian was rival Real Madrid. Barcelona club president Sandro Rosell recently confirmed that Madrid was involved in transfer talks with the player and fought to the end to obtain Neymar's services.
