The Ballon d'Or winner is announced on Jan. 11 with Barcelona duo Lionel Messi and Neymar hoping to take the title away from Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo.
Who deserves the award for his exploits in 2015? ESPN FC's Barcelona and Real Madrid bloggers, Lee Roden, Francesc Tomas and Rob Train, put forward their cases for who should win.
Lionel Messi
Why should he win?
Because the best player on the planet and produced the most complete season of his career. It's impossible to understand Barcelona's five-trophy haul in 2015 without honing in on the point in the middle of the season when Messi moved away from centre-forward and out to a starting position on the right.