Messi vs Neuer vs Ronaldo – What The Stats Say

Lionel Messi, Manuel Neuer and Cristiano Ronaldo are shortlisted for this year’s FIFA Ballon d’Or and many suggest the Portuguese will win the award. Do statistics back this widespread opinion?

Goals/Assists/Clean sheets:

Ronaldo has scored 55 goals in 55 games for club and country in 2014. In addition, he has made 19 assists.

Messi, meanwhile, scored 51 goals and assisted a further 21 in 62 games throughout the year.

Neuer, of course, can’t shine through goal records, but he has kept 28 clean sheets in 60 games, which means he didn’t concede in almost every second game.

Titles won:

Ronaldo has won the Champions League, the Copa del Rey and the UEFA Super Cup with Real Madrid. However, he dropped out of the World Cup group stages with Portugal.

Messi failed to win any silverware with club and country, but reached the World Cup final with Argentina.

Neuer won the German double, Bundesliga and German Cup, with Bayern before leading Germany to the World Cup title in Brazil.

Individual awards:

Ronaldo was crowned the UEFA Best Player in Europe, he won the La Liga Pichichi trophy, the European Golden Shoe, the Best Player in La Liga and the Best Forward in La Liga.

Messi probably won the most controversial individual award when he was named the Best Player of the World Cup in Brazil.

Neuer was named Player of the Year in Germany and won the Golden Glove at the World Cup in Brazil.

Other notable achievements:

Ronaldo broke Messi’s all-time record for most goals in a single Champions League campaign (17) and moved into fourth position in Real Madrid’s all-time scoring charts.

Messi was voted into the World Cup Dream Team and scored his 400^th career goal for club and country. He came back into Ballon d’Or contention after breaking the La Liga (251) and Champions League (71) all-time records last week.

Neuer made both the World Cup All-Star and World Cup Dream Team and is the goalkeeper with least goals conceded in 2014.

Based on these facts, who deserves to win the 2014 Ballon d’Or? Have your say in the comment section below.