By Graham Ruthven (@grahamruthven)

As much as FIFA tried to generate some, there was little suspense to the announcement of the 2015 Ballon d’Or winner. The look of resignation was painted on Cristiano Ronaldo’s face long before Lionel Messi’s name was read out in Zurich on Monday evening, with the Argentine already on his way up to the stage.

Indeed, the Barcelona man collected his fifth Ballon d’Or prize - becoming the first soccer player in history to win the award so many times. Messi, if he wasn’t already before, is a true great of the game who transcends his own generation. His fifth Ballon d’Or decorates his legend.

Whilst much of the build-up focused on the personal dual between Messi and Ronaldo - which has come to define the accolade over the past eight years - an interesting angle could be found by looking at the third candidate nominated for soccer’s most prestigious individual award. 

In truth, Neymar probably knew he was just along for the ride - with his club teammate Messi heavily fancied to lift yet another Ballon d’Or. The Brazilian forward picked up just nine percent of the vote, making him very much the outsider in what was effectively a two-horse race.

However, Neymar in 2015 came closer to the levels set by Messi and Ronaldo than any other player before. In previous years the third place spot on the Ballon d’Or finalists list has appeared something of an irrelevancy - sometimes even a token gesture for a team’s achievement (like Franck Ribery was nominated after Bayern Munich’s treble-winning success in 2013). 

The Brazilian forward deserved his place alongside such company, sparkling for Barcelona as Luis Enrique’s side won everything in sight last season. Between November 2014 and November 2015 (the official voting period for the Ballon d’Or) Neymar netted 40 times in 51 games, illustrating the extent to which he has started to fulfil his undoubted potential.

What’s more, Neymar has become Barcelona’s man for the big occasion. He scored in every match from the quarter-finals onwards, as the Catalans clinched the Champions League - even scoring in the Berlin triumph over Juventus. Neymar has proved himself at the very top level of the sport. 

And he’s only getting better, too. Neymar’s upward trajectory shows no sign of levelling off, with the Brazilian improving season-on-season. Of course, it certainly helps that he finds himself playing for one of the best soccer teams of all-time, playing alongside some of the best soccer players of all-time, but even by such a gauge, Neymar shimmers brighter than most. 

This year’s Ballon d’Or probably came too early for Neymar to lift the glittering golden ball, with still some progression to be made before he can rival Messi and Ronaldo for such awards. If he has his sights on such individual success, then perhaps Neymar should make the conscious decision to be more selfish in the final third - because as things stand, he must take a share of the credit for Messi’s astonishing 2015. The Brazilian made the Argentine even better, often setting up his teammate when he could have driven for goal himself.

With Ronaldo seemingly on the decline, having passed his 31st birthday, it’s entirely possible that by this time next year Messi and Neymar will be considered soccer’s predominant duo. And at 23-years-old, the Brazilian has a few years on his Barcelona teammate too. If the game has sought a player to anoint as its next best player, Neymar has become the frontrunner in those stakes. 

He might have already started his campaign for the 2016 Ballon d’Or, netting twice in three games for Barca this year. Neymar is destined to win the prize at some point in his career, and by taking his seat alongside Messi and Ronaldo on Monday he might have started the process.