Neymar snubs Barcelona team-mate Lionel Messi with claims Cristiano Ronaldo should be crowned Ballon d’Or winner

NEYMAR’S reported feud with Lionel Messi showed no signs of letting up as the Brazilian claimed Cristiano Ronaldo deserves to win the next Ballon d’Or.

Messi and Ronaldo have won the previous EIGHT awards between them — with Neymar tipped as one of the few men capable of breaking up the duopoly.

And the Samba Star — who reportedly endures a ruptured relationship with his Argentinian colleague — reckons it’s his Real Madrid rival who deserves the award after winning Europe’s premier competitions with both his club and his country.

quote him as saying: “Winning titles counts a lot.

“He won the Champions League and now the Euros. He is in pole position [for the Ballon d’Or].

“He is a great player, too.”

Ronaldo first won the Ballon d’Or in his penultimate season at Manchester United in 2008 when he netted a whopping 42 goals on the way to Premier League Champions League success.

Barcelona’s Treble the following season led to Messi beating his rival to the award — and winning the next three.

Ronaldo claimed his second title in 2013 and defended it a year later.

However, Barca’s astonishing 2015 — in which they became the first club ever to complete the Treble a second time — saw Messi crowned the world’s best player for a record-extending fifth time.

Neymar finished just behind his rivals last time out and is expected to challenge again having stepped up to the plate for Luis Enrique’s men in his superstar team-mate’s two-month mid-season absence through injury.

Barca retained their La Liga and Copa del Rey crowns but were eliminated by Atletico Madrid in the Champions League quarter-finals.

Messi then broke the Argentina goal-scoring record as he led to the opa America Centenario final — only to miss his penalty on the way to a shoot-out loss against Chile.

Real Madrid finished second to their Clasico rivals in the league, despite a valiant effort which saw the title race go right to the final day.

However, Los Blancos’ success in the Champions League coupled with Portugal’s victory at Euro 2016 — the first major honour in the country’s history — has put Ronaldo in pole position for the Ballon d’Or.

Antoine Griezmann, who was the star for both Atletico Madrid and France as they suffered European final heartbreak, is another strong contender for the honour.

While Gareth Bale’s sensational performances at Euro 2016 as Wales reached the semi-finals have also strengthened his position in the running.