Bayern Munich players support Manuel Neuer to win the FIFA Ballon d'Or

There has been a lot of discussion about who should win the FIFA Ballon d'Or ever since the three finalists were announced. It seems that there's a groundswell of support building to back Bayern Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer for the award; however, as with most FIFA awards, you can never be sure that the "deserving" player will take home the prize.

Many of Neuer's fellow Bayern teammates have spoken out in favor of him in recent weeks.

Philipp Lahm

"I think he has a good chance. It's hard, because Cristiano Ronaldo scored a lot of goals in La Liga and the Champions League. Messi played a very good World Cup, but Manu won it all."

Thomas Müller

"The Cristiano Ronaldo option would be a bit boring really. I hope that 'Manu' comes out on top. He has my vote, even if it does not count."

Arjen Robben

"I am especially happy for Manuel Neuer and hope he wins. He is by far the best goalkeeper in the world."

Rafinha

Normally keepers don't even make the final three, so it's already a huge achievement, but I think he should go on and win it. He's been brilliant in the last year. We won almost everything with Bayern and in the summer he won the World Cup with Germany. I've got huge respect for Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, everyone knows how good they are, but I think Manuel's the favourite.

What does the Neuer think about his nomination?

"As a goalkeeper, it is something quite special. To reach [the last three] makes me very proud. Here you can see how hard it is for a goalkeeper. What's mostly left after a match? The scenes in front of the goal where the attackers are the highlights of the play. But doing the spectacular is not particularly important to me. I just want to play for my team."