Brazil’s national team manager Dunga believes that it is time for Neymar to be crowned as the FIFA Ballon d’Or award winner.

The title has been shared between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo for the past seven seasons. However, both these players do not enjoy the same kind of supremacy that they did during this period. Neymar has emerged as a real alternative to the title after having performed well in the last 12 months. The Brazilian striker has especially been more prolific in the second half of 2015. This has seen him make it into the three-man shortlist for the award.

Neymar has scored 20 goals in the same number of matches for club and country in 2015. He has been more matured in the last 12 months with his dribbles and tricks often having an end product unlike before. His main competitors for the award are Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi. Ronaldo comes on the back of a disappointing season with Real Madrid, but he has won the title in the last two seasons. Messi helped Barcelona win a whole host of trophies, but Neymar’s contribution is more valuable according to Dunga. The winner of the award will be announced in the second week of January.

If Neymar wins the title, it would be his first and Santos will gain a significant amount as a result."We start the season as a team and we have to finish as a team. This is important. When we start losing, we all know it's not about the one or two players playing badly or playing well.It's about the team. Diego didn't play at Tottenham, but I know he'll be ready for the next game. He scored against Norwich – the winning goal – but it has to be all about the team in the moment,” said Dunga.