Lionel Messi: Luis Suarez 'deserved' to be nominated for Ballon d'Or

Despite being joined by one Barcelona teammate as a finalist for the FIFA Ballon d'Or, Lionel Messi believes Luis Suarez also deserved to be in contention for the award.

The Barcelona superstar, however, admitted that his greatest adversary, Cristiano Ronaldo, undoubtedly deserves a place among the three finalists, including Neymar, for the prestigious award.

Related: Messi, Ronaldo, Neymar named finalists for 2015 FIFA Ballon d'Or

"I am happy for once again having been selected among the three finalists," Messi told reporters at the annual La Liga awards. "To be able to assist to another gala. I am happy I will be there with Neymar.

"I also would have like to share the event with Luis because he also deserved to be there following his great performance during last season.

"But we must also accept the fact that Cristiano is a true deserver of the nomination. So we will go to enjoy the moment like we did every time we went there."

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It's the first time Brazilian international Neymar has made the shortlist for the award after his extraordinary play at the Camp Nou, while Suarez has yet to make the final three during his stellar career with Ajax, Liverpool, and Barcelona.

Barcelona manager Luis Enrique also shared his disappointment after learning Suarez failed to make the cut, but accepts that his players can't be the only ones nominated for the award.

"As a coach I always want all my players to be on all the awards lists, but you have to understand that there are other players from other teams of a very good level," Enrique told reporters.

Messi and Ronaldo - who's won the last two Ballon d'Or trophies - have gone head-to-head for the honour several times, with either one of them winning the award every season since 2008 when it was known as the FIFA World Player of the Year.

Messi holds the advantage over Ronaldo, edging the Real Madrid forward with four trophies to three.