Lionel Messi

The 2015 Ballon d'Or finalists have been announced, and the three chosen come as a surprise to approximately nobody.

The nominees, in case you live in a hole, or under a rock, or in a hole located under a rock, are Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar Jr.

A much more interesting question than who would get nominated (we guess Luis Suarez had an outside chance at Neymar's third spot, but come on) is who will win. Will Lionel Messi receive his fourth, Ronaldo his third or Neymar his first? We break it down.

In a couple decades, soccer aficionados will debate the illustrious careers of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Heck, what are we talking about. Anyone who knows anything about soccer debates Messi vs Ronaldo now. It's practically an industry in and of itself.

 In 2012, Lionel Messi was named by Sports Illustrated magazine as the Best Soccer Player of All Time, beating out 160 players from across time and space.

Messi beat out the likes of Diego Maradona, Johan Cruyff and Pele. Cristiano Ronaldo had to settle for a distant 21st place.

As successful as Barcelona have been with the current Messi, there is no doubt that they are constantly on the lookout for the next Messi.

And they just might have found what the're looking for in Carles Aleña, a 17-year-old Spaniard who plays for the Barcelona U-19s and has already trained with the first team because of injuries. There is serious speculation that he could be the next big thing out of the academy that produced Lionel Messi, Gerard Pique, Xavi Hernandes, Andres Iniesta, Carles Puyol, Thiago Motta, Cesc Fabregas, Pedro and Sergio Busquets. 

We missed this, man. We really did. And now he's back, scoring amazing goals that only Messi (and to an extent only Barcelona) can score.

Barcelona obliterated Roma 6-1 in his first start and second game back, and he tallied two goals and an assist. Luis Suarez also scored twice and Gerard Pique and Adriano also scored.

Messi's first goal since injuring his knee in September came after a build-up of 29 straight passes from Barca, a Champions League record.

Barcelona didn't have to twist the knife. But they did.

Leading Real Madrid 3-0 in the Bernabeu, and making a powerful statement in the first Clasico of the year, the Blaugrana could have easily killed the game off and returned to Catalonia the triumphant victors, the clear favorites in La Liga and the masters of El Clasico.

All the talk  surrounding this weekend's Clasico has centered, as it usually does, around Lionel Messi.

Thie difference this year is the talk has centered around whether Messi will play. Messi sustained a knee injury earlier this season, and has been out since September. The date aimed for as Messi's return has been Saturdays match against Real Madrid.

What makes a rivalry?  Does it have to be fueled by hate, or could a rivalry just be the acts of greatness shown by the two involved, where each pushes the other to reach heights they may have never achieved without that competitive adversary?  In the NBA, Magic Johnson had Larry Bird; in the NFL, Peyton Manning has Tom Brady; tennis has Rafael Nadal vs Roger Federer. Right now in the world of soccer Lionel Messi has Cristiano Ronaldo.