Neymar

Down two places to fifth, Neymar has not quite pushed on as expected after a magnificent 2015. He might be No1 one day. But not yet. Not without greater consistency. This is not to say that Neymar has had a bad year. By the standards of most players, it has been wildly successful. Not content with helping Barcelona to win La Liga and the Copa del Rey again, he also knocked home the deciding penalty as Brazil, under pressure on home soil, claimed Olympic gold in men’s football for the first time in their history, and he has been in excellent goalscoring form for his country in World Cup qualifying since the summer. The spotlight was on Neymar when Messi and Argentina visited Belo Horizonte last month. He was on the scoresheet in a 3-0 win for Brazil. Yet he has not performed at his usual high level for Barcelona this season, scoring only six goals by mid-December, and there has been a little weariness to his play. There have been legal problems off the pitch, his schedule has been relentless in the past few years and it is worth remembering that he is the youngest member of Barcelona’s hallowed attacking trident. Do not be surprised if the 24-year-old returns better than ever in 2017.