Santos to receive £1.4m after Neymar makes Ballon d’Or final three

Neymar’s former club, Santos, will earn £1.4 million after the Barcelona winger was shortlisted amongst the final three candidates for the 2015 Ballon d’Or, according to the Daily Mail.

Neymar is one of the trio of contenders for the prize along with club teammate Lionel Messi and Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo.

Santos will earn the money courtesy of a clause that was inserted in the Brazilian’s contract when he made the switch to the Camp Nou in the summer of 2013.

Neymar has been in scintillating form for Barcelona this season and, while his chances of beating Messi and Ronaldo this year seem rather slim, it is likely that the 23-year-old will have plenty of opportunities to win the prestigious accolade in the future.

Neymar has scored a hugely impressive 14 goals in his 12 La Liga appearances so far this season.

Whilst Argentinian superstar Messi was injured recently, Neymar took the opportunity to lead the team with aplomb. He netted eight times and made three assists in a five-game run.

Even more spectacular is the fact that he has created 48 chances in the Spanish top flight this campaign – 31 more than the second-placed creator in Barca’s squad, Luis Suarez.

A player whose talent was easily identifiable from a very early age, Neymar was heavily linked with Barcelona for several years before he finally make the move to the club two years ago.

Since then he has thrived and currently forms part of the most prolific attacking trio in world football, along with Messi and Suarez. In 2014/15, they combined to score 81 La Liga goals, as Barcelona won the title.

Posted by Janice Johnson (Source: isoccerng)